Twilight:REDUX
by crASHed
Summary: Twilight as a love story between Alice and Bella. Femslash. No major Angst. Follows Twilight's main ideas. Vampire/Human.
1. Why the Frown?

**Disclaimer**:

**I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I am just borrowing them for some fun times and I swear there is no profit to be had with this little adventure.**

Regarding the story, I sometimes wish authors would give little more warnings, as to what to expect with their stories, so, that is what I will do now.

**What you can expect from this story: **

It is an Alice/Bella femslash story and will involve the depiction of their romantic relationship.  
Their relationship will build up slowly.  
The ratings of the chapters will vary from K to M.  
I will only declare if a chapter is rated M, otherwise you can assume that the chapter will stay below that rating.  
I like Edward, so there will be no bashing of him in this fic.  
The canon pairings of Carlisle/Esme and Emmett/Rosalie remain, but their relationship will never become the focus of this story, nor will their interactions ever be above a T rating.  
Edward and Jasper are both single.  
There will be no threesomes in this story, nor will there be any sex for the sake of sex kind of plot lines.  
This story will stay close to the main ideas of Twilight, but I will change what I feel is necessary to allow my story to work.  
There will be no excessive jealously in this story.  
There will be **no** graphic depictions of child abuse, rape or any other such atrocious events. Even though Rosalie's back-story will likely be told.  
I do not know yet how much Jacob and the wolves will be involved in the story.  
This story will likely be very long.  
I will try to stay as true to the characters as possible and I will not turn them into something they are not.  
I am not big with angsty story lines, so if this is what you are looking for, this story will likely disappoint you.  
English is not my native language, but that should not be a problem.  
I am not familiar with the American school system, so let me know if I commit some error with happenings at school.  
I appreciate it if you let me know of any inconsistencies or spelling mistakes.  
This is my first fanfiction, but it is not the first story I have ever written. I have been reading fanfictions for over 10 years now and finally decided to write one myself.  
I will try to update as often as I can and I will complete this story!

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 1**

**Why the Frown?**

Forks High School. Great. As if it isn't bad enough to be transferring to a new school midterm, but to transfer to a school with a student body of around 500 is beyond aggravating. There is no way you can just blend into the crowd at such a small school. I sighed and got out of my car. Charlie really came through here, I mean, I definitely was not expecting to get a car. I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and walked towards, what I believed to be, the registrar's office. It was raining, naturally, as if the weather could do anything else in Forks.

The secretary at the registrar's office figured out my schedule in no time and I had the pleasure of starting the day with Math. Nice, what a way to ruin one's mood. While I was trying to navigate the campus map I had snatched from the registrar's office, someone ran into me.

"Oh, excuse me, I wasn't looking" a quirky looking Asian kid with short black hair exclaimed, preparing to walk at my side.

"You are the new kid, Isabella Swan, right? My name is Eric, by the way." He held out his hand to me.

"Bella, and yes, I am the new girl. Nice to meet you, Eric." I shook his hand while giving him an awkward smile. Great, this school is so small that people already know the name of the new kid. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Hey, let me see you schedule" he grabbed my schedule, exclaiming "cool, we've got Math together. Follow me, Bella Swan" Eric grinned and walked down the hall. '_Neat, an escort, well, at least I won't get lost,'_ I considered, as I started to follow Eric to my first class at Forks High.

* * *

During my third period, I made my way to the Biology lab. I still wasn't used to all this attention, but it wasn't like I had much choice in the matter, so I refrained myself from sighing when I handed my information slip to my biology teacher.

"Miss Swan, welcome," Mr. Kuhn greeted me smiling.

"Please take your seat next to Mr. Cullen"

At his words, I looked up and saw my lab partner. I blinked twice, thinking that no one can look this beautiful. Yes, I know, guys are supposed to be handsome, not beautiful, but this Mr. Cullen could only be described as beautiful. He had rust-colored hair that artfully defied gravity by standing up perfectly symmetrical. His face looked very pale and while he probably could have benefited from a good nights rest, judging by the dark rings under his eyes, his facial features were perfectly aligned. In fact, he looked like some master sculpture spent months agonizing over creating just the right proportions and lines of his chiseled face. I slowly made my way to my seat and suddenly noticed that he kept staring at me with a frown on his face. '_Not too social, huh?'_ I chuckled to myself, not as if I could criticize anyone for not being social. If an antithesis of a social butterfly existed, it would be me.

Once I sat down next to him he turned slightly to look at me directly, the same frown was still etched into his perfect features. _'Why does he keep frowning at me? What did I do? It's not like there was any other seat left'_ I contemplated quickly. I decided to return his appraisal and looked up into his eyes. _'Huh? Golden? Who has golden eyes?'_ was the first thought that popped into my mind once I saw the color of his eyes. I mean, really? Those had to be contacts!

"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen. You must be Isabella Swan" he suddenly addressed me with a surprisingly melodic voice. He offered me his hand to shake.

"Just Bella, nice to meet you" I rambled uncomfortably as I shook his offered hand and gasped. _'Wow, here I thought I had cold hands' _my mind supplied instantly, and since there is quite often a filter missing between my thoughts and my mind, I right away voiced that thought. "Your hands are really cold." Damn, I closed my eyes and sighed. _'Way to go, Bella.'_

Edward shook his head, while still sporting remnants of the same frown from before. "I am sorry" he exhaled, while offering no other explanation.

During the rest of the biology class Edward worked silently. Nevertheless, I still caught him every now and then staring at me contemplatively, frowning and then shaking his head. His actions almost gave the impression that I confused him, yet it was his behavior that bewildered me. In the end, I shrugged it off and decided that Edward was probably just experiencing a bad day.

* * *

After Biology, I made my way to the cafeteria. Lunch break. _'What a joy'_ my mind all but sneered. I just hoped I could eat without receiving too many curious glances. _'Being the new student sucks'_ I thought wearily and entered the cafeteria. I picked up something that looked remotely edible and started to scan the crowd of seated and talking students for an empty table, when I suddenly heard my name called from across the room. I cringed and looked in the direction of the overly enthusiastic call,

"Bella, over here! Come on, we saved you a seat."

"Eric" I mumbled, nodded in his direction and started to make my way over to his table.

"Hello, again. Sit down" Eric greeted me smiling once I had arrived. "Oh, sorry, let me make the introductions. Guys, this the Bella Swan, daughter of our Chief of police and this" he pointed at the girl sitting to his right, who had long dark brown hair and glasses, "is Angela and next to her is Jessica" Eric pointed at a girl with light brown hair who also sported a frown on her face when she looked at me. _'What is it with that today?'_ my mind quipped a little self-consciously, while both girls gave me a slight nod.

"Hello Bella" Angela smiled and gave me a little wave.

"And finally" Eric resumed, "we have my buddy Mike here" he finished, slapping the blond short haired boy, sitting on his left side, on the shoulders.

"Hello Bella," Mike said almost breathlessly while giving me a huge smile and a quick once over, both of which seemed to deepen the frown on Jessica's face. _'Oh, that's where her frown comes from'_ my mind supplied cheerfully.

"Hello, nice to meet you all" I replied, trying to sound more cheerful than I felt, while I sat down on the seat between Mike and Jessica. _'Good times.'_

"So, Bella, you're from Arizona, right?" Jessica inquired, trying to sound interested in light of the fact that Mike yet had to avert his eyes from me.

"Yes, I lived in Phoenix" I continued to eat right after answering, hoping this would distract from further questions. No such luck.

"Well, compared to Phoenix, Forks must seem pretty pathetic to you then," Jessica continued, whereupon Angela exclaimed "Jess!" scolding, all the while giving me an apologetic smile.

"No, Forks is fine" I replied quickly, wishing lunch break was already over. I turned around just as the backdoor to the cafeteria opened, admitting the most stunning couple I had ever seen. The boy looked like a professional football player who spends too much time in the gym lifting weights. He practically was the size of a bear and towered over most of the other students. His short, curly black hair was neatly cut and his clothes appeared to come directly from the most current Gentlemen's Quarterly. Just like Edward, this boy looked pale and his facial features looked just as sculptured as Edward's did. My gaze shifted and moved to the girl next to the modeling football player. While both Edward and the quarterback were beautiful, they paled; here my mind naturally snickered at my choice of words, in comparison to the girl who held hands with the potential professional football player/model. She had long, wavy blond hair and the face of one of those classical film beauties from the 1960's movies that my mother made me watch when growing up. _'Where do all these stunning people come from? And what on earth are they doing in Forks?' _I started to shake my head, but then realized that the entrance of the beautiful people was not over yet. Right after the couple entered a blond, shorthaired boy who, while also quite beautiful, looked as though he was in excruciating pain. _'I feel you, High School sucks'_ my mind supplied sympathetically. Next, and not really a surprise, followed Edward. Naturally, he would hang out with the rest of his fellow genetically blessed companions. _'This school is starting to give me a complex' _I thought a little aggravated, while feeling even plainer next to these extremely attractive fellow students.

"Don't waste your time or energy on the Cullen's" Jessica's sneer brought me abruptly out of my stunned reverie.

"What?" I mumbled confused, turning to look at Jessica.

"The Cullen's, you were just staring at them," Jessica pointed out as if I was a slow learning preschooler, all the while rolling her eyes.

"They are related?" I asked, wondering why I even was surprised.

"Well, no, not really. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted all of them. Even though, I believe Jasper and Rosalie are twins," Angela supplied helpfully.

"They are a couple, you know?" Jessica suddenly interjected.

"The twins?" I stammered aghast.

"No, Emmett, that's the big, muscular guy, and Rosalie, the blond girl next to him," corrected Angela with a pointed look at Jessica.

"Whatever. I still believe that Alice and Jasper are an item as well" Jessica replied a little frustrated.

"Alice?" I raised my eyebrows curiously; I had only seen one girl entering the cafeteria with the rest of the guys.

"Alice is not here yet, maybe she's late," answered Angela a little surprised. "It is just, they are always together," Angela continued, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes, and they don't like to interact with us mere mortals" Jessica commented venomously.

'_Someone's bitter'_ my mind snickered a little and out of impulse, I turned in my seat the same moment the backdoor opened once more, admitting the last Cullen into the cafeteria. My eyes widened the moment I caught a first real glimpse of, presumably Alice, making her way over to the table her siblings occupied. Forget what I had said about the beauty of the Cullen's before. Alice was so stunning my heart stopped when I saw her, only to then jump start running as fast as it could without jumping out of my chest. All breath left my body and I could only stare at her.

"Oh, there's Alice" Angela's voice suddenly caught up to my brain.

"Alice" I whispered weakly, whereupon the girl in question turned her head and looked directly at me, as if I had just screamed out her name, instead of whispering it almost silently. Alice then cocked her head and continued to look into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity to me, even though only mere seconds had passed. A soft smile ghosted over her hauntingly beautiful face, before she continued to float over to her siblings. Her movements were so graceful; my eyes were still glued to her form so that I did not register that someone was talking to me right away.

"Earth to Bella, hello? Bella, are you in there?" Mike started to wave his hands in front of me.

I turned around to face him. "What? I am sorry, I did not hear you."

"Of course not, she was obviously lost in Edward-land" muttered Jessica under her breath.

"Huh?" was all I managed to say at first. "Edward? No, he is my lab partner in biology" I added, still having no clue why Jessica had brought up Edward.

"Really? Has he talked to you?" Angela interjected.

"Yes, I mean, no. He introduced himself, but that was it," I shrugged my shoulders. "He seemed a little off. I don't know, maybe he wasn't feeling too well?" I continued, remaining confused by Edwards's odd behavior.

"They never really talk to anyone that is not in their family. Why should Bella be special?" Jessica scoffed.

"Erm." Mike coughed, trying to get my attention once more. "You still haven't answered my question, Bella?" he looked at me expectantly.

"Question?" I raised my eyebrows, the same moment a booming laughter sounded through the cafeteria, finding its origin with Emmett, at the Cullen table. I turned quickly and saw how everyone was laughing at Alice who appeared to be amused herself. _'Wonder what that is about?' _I mused before realizing that I was once more staring at Alice. Again, her eyes found mine and my heart started galloping in my chest, while my palms started to sweat and I wondered silently _'God, what is this?'_ before I had to turn away quickly.

"As I was saying before," Mike was on a roll again.

"Yes?" I tried to concentrate on him.

"Are you coming with us to the beach this Friday evening, Bella?"

"The beach? In this weather?" I asked astonished.

"Well, yeah?" Mike shrugged.

"I don't know. Which beach do you mean anyway?"

"La Push. Come on Bella, it'll be fun" Mike continued.

"I'll talk to Charlie and let you know tomorrow, ok?" I compromised. Now I just needed to find a way for Charlie to dislike this idea. I was not really in the mood to go to the beach in this weather. Actually, I was even less in the mood to do so with this crowd. They seemed all right, but Mike's fascination with me would be tiresome, even more so along with Jessica's jealousy over Mike's said fascination.

"Anyway, we gotta get ready to go to our next class," Angela suddenly brought up. "What is your next class, Bella?" She turned towards me.

"Uh, let me check" I quickly got my schedule. "History, with Mr. Annecke. Anyone else of you in it?" I looked into the round inquiring.

"Yes, that is my next class too" smiled Angela, while the others just shook their heads.

"Cool." I was glad Angela was in my class, I liked her the most so far.

* * *

As we arrived for our history class, Mr. Annecke was already there and smiled at me through his thick round glasses when I handed him my information slip.

"Yes, Miss Swan. Welcome" He turned to look at the classroom, then turned back towards me. "Actually, I believe the only seat left is next to Miss Cullen" and pointed towards the still unoccupied table on the left side in the back of the room.

I visibly gulped. 'Miss Cullen? Which one?' my mind immediately wondered. I wasn't sure if I should hope he was talking about Alice or if I should hope he was not. After giving a little wave in Angela's direction, I went to the table Mr. Annecke had pointed out and sat next to the window, hoping this was the empty seat he was talking about before. Nervously, I glanced at my watch and heard the bell ring at the same moment. _'Huh, maybe she is not coming to class today?'_ I wondered, while keeping my eyes glued to the door.

"Hello," a sweet sounding voice brought me out of my concentration. I turned my head to look at the source of this captivating voice and gasped. How could Alice have gotten in here while I kept my eye on the door the whole time? Yet, here was Alice, standing next to her seat, still smiling at me with her spiky black hair in perfectly organized disarray. I looked into her honey colored eyes, speechless at her dazzling smile. She was pale like the rest of the Cullen's, yet she looked so thin and in combination with her standing no taller than 5''2, she was the only fragile looking one of the five of them. Her clothes clung to her body perfectly, as if they were designed to specifically fit her figure. Come to think about it, they probably were.

"Uh, hello?" I finally managed to press out. Naturally, I blushed right away.

"My name is Alice Cullen," she introduced herself while sitting down next to me. Suddenly, her smile froze and she looked away from me, her beautiful face abruptly sporting a frown.

'Not you too!' my mind practically shouted.

* * *

APOV

'_This smell, god, please, make it go away' _my mind pleaded once I actually smelled Bella's blood. Before, I had been too entranced and confused by Bella to really notice her scent. Once I sat down though, the smell, heightened by her blush, hit me full force. Resisting human blood has never been that much of a problem for me. Yet, Bella's blood had my throat on fire and my mouth filled with venom. I swallowed convulsively, and clamped my hands onto my thighs, fearing that nothing else would survive the force I had to use to refrain myself from attacking Bella. _'I will resist'_ my head chanted repeatedly. I did not want to be the reason my family had to flee from Forks and that is what would happen, should I attack Bella now, in a room full of witnesses. I sincerely doubted that I could kill them all before anyone escaped. Besides, I did not want to kill anyone to begin with. There were also no visions forthcoming to guide me, to reassure me that I would not kill Bella or even, to have warned me of this situation before I arrived here. I had stopped breathing, but that would not do if I wanted to keep my human cover. Bella looked at me confused and I felt saddened for treating her so rudely. I had actually looked forward to meet the human whose mind was impenetrable to Edward's mind reading powers. Moreover, since seeing her in the cafeteria I felt a certain pull towards her. I briefly wondered why Edward had failed to mention how intoxicating Bella's scent is.

The burning in my throat did not lessen one bit and the monster in me kept urging me on to rip Bella's throat out and bathe in her blood. My thirst actually became so severe my eye color changed to black. _'Damn, well maybe she hadn't noticed my eye color before?'_ my mind wondered hopefully. Bella sighed next to me and continued to switch her gaze between Mr. Annecke and me.

* * *

BPOV

I still didn't understand what about myself caused the Cullen's to wear these ridiculous frowns of their beautiful faces. All right, I am exaggerating; two of the Cullen's wore frowns when near me. Still, it should also be considered that I have only met two of the Cullen family so far!

I sighed and kept stealing glances at Alice who sat straight in her chair, hands on her legs, while her gaze was focused on the table in front of her. During all this, Mr. Annecke informed us of the changes in his syllabus. He sounded almost excited. I only listened half-heartedly, still trying to figure out what on earth I seemed to be doing that apparently frustrated both members of the Cullen family I had come into direct contact with. Suddenly, something Mr. Annecke said managed to break through my contemplation.

"These changes in the syllabus will affect the way this class is taught. From now on, or better, starting in two weeks, two of you will present an assigned historic topic. The topics are assigned randomly and as for groups, people sharing a table will share a topic. This will simplify things, I believe" Mr. Annecke beamed at us excitedly. My face fell. Not only would I have to present a historic topic in front of the whole class, I had to do so with Alice Cullen as my partner. _'She is so not going to like this!'_ my mind exclaimed morosely.

"Here are your group assignments," Mr. Annecke continued, starting to hand out assignment sheets to each group. I looked down at our topic. "The Rise and Fall of the French Revolution" was written at the top of the page, followed by a list of various instructions.

* * *

APOV

'_Group work? With Bella? Seriously?' _I groaned, too low for human ears. That did not mean I was any less frustrated, mind you. How is this going to work? I mean, I have to muster pretty much all my strength to keep from killing her on the spot and then Annecke expects me to do a presentation with her? _'It's not like he is aware of your little predicament'_ my mind can really be annoying sometimes.

"I will give you the last 15 minutes of this class to confer with your partner regarding your group work," Mr. Annecke ended his speech.

"So" Bella started, turning in her seat to look at me. "How do you wanna do this?"

"We could split the work?" I still did not look at her.

"Well, yes, that's what you usually do in a group assignment" Bella sounded amused and confused at the same time. I did not react right away.

"Alice? Are you alright?" now she sounded almost concerned.

I glanced up at her shortly, replying "yes, I am fine," and looked back down. She really was beautiful, but why did she have to smell so enticing? "I meant we can split up the work now, work on it separately at home and put it together here at school right before the presentation," minimal contact, that was the idea.

"Ok, if that's what you'd prefer" Bella sounded a little hurt at the end. I exhaled frustrated, but couldn't stop myself from looking at her again. As soon as I did, Bella let out a small gasp.

"Alice, your eyes, they have changed colors?" Bella whispered confused.

Shit.

* * *

**I have not figured out how to set the paragraph when a new part of the story begins**,** so I've been using the horizontal line. Any input in how the paragraphs work is welcome.**

**Reviews, comments, concerns and constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks for reading.  
**


	2. Not That Fond of Vampires?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A big thank you to all who added me and this story to their story/author favorites and alerts and of course to those, who reviewed this story. I appreciate it! This one is a little shorter, but I wanted to get it out tonight. Let me know what you think. Thanks!**

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 2**

**Not That Fond of Vampires?**

BPOV

'_What happened to her eyes?'_ my mind questioned surprised. Instead of showing a warm liquid gold, Alice's eyes had turned pitch black. Can eyes change colors? _'Maybe I did not see right'_ my mind offered. No, they were gold, no one really would mistake black for gold, right?

"What are you talking about?" Alice was still staring at the table. "Eye colors don't change, Bella," she continued.

"I am aware of that, Alice," I almost sneered. "That does not change the fact that your eyes were golden and now they are black. How do you explain that, Alice?"

"Black? My eyes are not Black, Bella," Alice looked up at me and her eyes were golden again, a darker gold, granted, but still gold.

"Huh. I am sorry. Maybe it was the light?" I was thoroughly confused now.

"Yes, probably" Alice resumed her stare at the table.

'_Nice job, Bella,'_ my mind huffed. Insulting two Cullen's in one day. This presentation should be a blast.

"Listen, I am not sure what I did to offend you. Well, that is besides my little freak-out over your supposedly changing eye color, but I am sure Mr. Annecke will assign you a new partner, if you ask him," I sighed frustrated, looking out of the window.

* * *

APOV

'_A new partner? Yes, that would probably be safer, for both of us,' _my mind interjected immediately. However, I felt so drawn to her, that I actually ached to get to know her. Surely, I could learn to get used to her smell, correct? In order to do that, I would have to be around her, so I should not ask for another partner. That sounds logical, right? But the burning, if only it would not hurt so much!

"No," I sighed too. "Bella, I am truly sorry for being so rude. I have a bad headache today, which makes me a little short tempered, I guess. I don't want another partner, we will do just fine." I managed to give her a short smile.

"You're sure?" Bella asked almost shyly.

"Yes, of course. Maybe we can meet this weekend to work on the project. Our work is not due until a month from tomorrow." I suggested carefully.

"Sure, that sounds fine. Where do you want to meet? You could come to my place or we could meet at the library?" Bella looked at me expectantly.

Good question. Alone, at Bella's place, likely in her room, surrounded by her delicious scent? Maybe not.

"Let's meet at the library, Saturday? What time would work for you?" I inquired softly.

"Yes, that is fine. Maybe at 2 o'clock? Would that work for you?" Bella replied, looking in my direction.

"Yes, that's great. I will see you then" I answered quickly. I had to get out of here. "Bye," I managed to press out, got up and left, faster than I should have. I just needed to get away from this scent before I snapped. I am still reeling that a human being can smell so tempting. Not once in my entire life had I encountered a human with blood that sang to every fiber of my being. Blood, with a scent I wanted to drown in, a scent that made my body shake and that stirred a longing so strong I thought I might lose my mind. At the end of the class, the fire in my throat had felt like it was starting to engulf the rest of my body. At this moment, I had decided to leave. In fact, I could not even prevent risking my cover by getting out of the room faster than a humanly possible. There was just no way that I could have risked staying even a moment longer. I had gotten lucky this time, calming down enough to force my eye color back to resemble my regular golden tone. There would have been no way to explain a change in eye color.

* * *

BPOV

"Bye?" I said, to the air? Alice left so fast I am not sure I actually saw her leave.  
_'Huh, this was weird. And why does everyone say the Cullen's don't talk to anyone else?'_ my mind contemplated. I was still in deep thought when the bell rang. Slowly, I gathered my stuff and left for my next class.

None of my other classes were shared either by the Cullen's or by my newfound friends from lunch break. Therefore, the rest of the school day turned out to be pretty uneventful. Back home, I prepared diner for Charlie and disappeared to my room. This day had been so strange; I actually considered starting a journal. Then, the thought of someone else finding and reading such a journal made me drop that idea quickly. After much staring into space, I finally dragged myself to bed. Let us see what tomorrow brings.

The next day brought utter frustration. First, I fell on my way to the truck, tearing my favorite jeans in the process. The change of clothing led to me being late for math, much to the ire of Mr. Marx, my math teacher. That man actually cannot comprehend how a person cannot be totally devoted and enamored with math. Please!

All day I anticipated seeing Alice again and Edward's presence in biology assured me that I had not dreamed up yesterday's events. Lunch break came, but no Alice in sight. At first, I thought she was just late again, but half an hour into lunch break, I had to concede that Alice was a no-show for today. All through lunch, Mike tried to start various conversations, but my mind was otherwise occupied, so I hardly paid him any attention. _'Where in the world was Alice?'_ my mind seemed unable even to consider any other thought. I almost marched up to the Cullen's table and asked where Alice was. Alas, I changed my mind right before getting up. That idea was just too intimidating.

* * *

APOV

I had a vision of Bella walking up to our regular lunch table and asking Edward where I was. As soon as I received the vision, it disappeared immediately, and instead I saw Bella walking to class. _'I guess she changed her mind,'_ I sighed and closed my eyes.

I cannot believe I missed her. In my whole life, I cannot remember ever having missed someone so intensely. This is ridiculous! I have just met her and talked to her for less than twenty minutes. Why this longing? I must be losing my mind. On that note, why did my visions not see her coming? It aggravated me to no end when my visions did not work.

I stayed home from school today because I needed to figure out how to deal with this whole Bella situation. We actually had a family meeting yesterday where I explained my experience with Bella to my family. While Edward agreed, that Bella smells better than ordinary humans do, she does not smell irresistible to him. I had to groan at that, just the memory of her scent threatened to drive me insane. The part of me that was pure vampire, wanted Bella's blood, craved Bella's blood. Yet, the part of me that was just Alice, wanted to get to know Bella, wanted to see her smile and laugh. I craved her nearness; actually, both parts of me craved her nearness, albeit for different reasons. In the end, both cravings scared me more than I cared to admit. I did not know what to do. Rosalie said I should stay away from "the human." Emmett, on the other hand, thought this whole situation was highly amusing. _'To him maybe'_, my mind snorted. Edward was worried that I might not be able to resist her and end up hurting her in the process. Consequently, he also favored the idea that I should stay away from Bella. The rest of my family, Carlisle, Esme and Jasper just told me to follow my heart and said me that they trust my decisions. Here I was in the end, sitting in my room while my siblings were at school. All of them were able to see Bella, unlike me, who stupidly decided to stay at home from school. _'Ugh, this is so frustrating,'_ I started pacing up and down. Suddenly, my vision clouded and all I could see was Bella's face and she had tears in her eyes.

* * *

BPOV

'_Damn,'_ my eyes filled with tears from the stabbing pain that shot through my ankle. I had twisted it while missing the last step going down the stairs that led to our history classroom. _'Great, as if this day could get any worse'_ my mind scoffed; all the while I slapped my forehead, thinking that I had probably just jinxed myself. I almost started to laugh.

"Bella, what happened? Are you all right?" a beautiful melodic voice brought me out of my internal tirade. I had just resigned myself that I would not hear this voice today.

"Alice?" I turned towards her. "You weren't here for lunch, so I thought you would not be here at all today," I greeted her, all the while rolling my eyes. _'Great, now she probably thinks I am a stalker.' _

"I just skipped lunch," Alice smiled a little strained. "So, you are ok, Bella?" she continued to look at me intently.

"Oh. Well. I am ok, I just twisted my ankle when I missed the last step of the stairs," I blushed.

"Well, I am glad you are all right. Nevertheless, you should be more careful, Bella. You could have really hurt yourself." Alice sighed.

I looked at her quizzically, as we walked, or in my case, limped to our history class.

* * *

APOV

'_Damn, Alice, you came running here for a twisted ankle!' _I could not believe it. However, what was I supposed to do? I thought Bella was in trouble, so it wasn't as if I could just do nothing! So, here I was again, surrounded and drowning in Bella's scent. Yes, I craved her closeness, but I still had not decided how to handle this whole situation.

We did not talk further on our way to get settled in our classroom.

"Are we still on for Saturday? I mean, well, I thought you were sick or something so I had planed to ask you this once I saw you again, but now you are here and you are well, so, I just asked an unnecessary question…" Bella started to ramble. It was actually quite adorable.

"Yes, we are still on for Saturday. Your question was not unnecessary, Bella. I was not feeling too good yesterday and your conclusion from my absence during lunch today makes sense. Especially, since I had to leave so quickly yesterday, after the bell rang. My headache just kept getting worse, so I just wanted to get out of school." I internally congratulated myself for having come up with a reasonable explanation for my rapid departure yesterday.

"Good," Bella smiled at me, "To both, I mean; that we are still meeting on Saturday and that you are obviously feeling better," she continued awkwardly. I gave her a big smile, I just could not help myself, she was just too cute. _'Am I making her nervous? Can she feel that I am a predator and she a potential prey?'_ my mind suddenly wondered. Humans usually instinctively keep their distance from us. Bella did not seem to mind being in such close proximity to me, though. _'That will likely change once she knows what you are,'_ my insecurities spoke up. Anyway, that still did not explain why she would be nervous around me. I was lost in my thoughts when I suddenly heard Bella's heart rate speed up. My mind started to spin from listening to all of Bella's delicious blood being pumped through her veins. _'Get a grip, Alice,'_ my mind chimed in, _'you want to get to know the girl, not eat her!'_ the warning continued. _'Well, that depends,'_ the sly part of my mind retorted. Great, now I was having a debate with myself. I chuckled and looked at Bella, who sat next to me and turned around to face me inquiringly, once she heard my little chuckle. Mr. Annecke chose that moment to make his presence known by clearing his throat.

* * *

BPOV

'_Gosh, I am such a bumbling idiot!'_ I couldn't believe how tongue tied Alice made me. Moreover, when I actually managed to say something, I was rambling as if I had never uttered a complete sentence before. Suddenly, she chuckled. I looked at her and wondered what went on in her head. The class finally started and I was hard pressed to pay any attention to what Mr. Annecke was trying to teach us, since my gaze kept wandering to my beautiful neighbor. Alice smiled again and started to write something on an extra sheet of paper, which she then moved in front of me, once she was done writing.

**What are you doing Friday evening? **

Alice's calligraphic handwriting inquired. My heart rate picked up.

**Some friends invited me to go to the beach with them. I am not sure I want to go, though. You?**

My less than neat scrawl looked even more traumatizing next to Alice's painted script.

**Well, I thought we could maybe watch a movie. However, I do not want to keep you from your friends, if you have already made plans. Which beach did they have in mind?**

See a movie with Alice? Go to the beach with Mike? That was not even a competition.

**La Push. As I said, I am not sure I want to go. Unless, do you wan to come?**

I kinda like that idea and looked expectantly at Alice once I passed the paper back to her. Alice read my note and her smile immediately fell, all the while, her right hand was balling into a fist as she started writing furiously. _'Huh, what's that all about?'_ I wondered surprised. Curiously, I started to read her note once she gave the paper back to me.

**No, sorry. I do not like the beach down there. Besides, is it not a little too cold for a night at the beach?**

**Yes, that's what I told them, too! So, what movie did you have in mind? **

I asked her curiously. I would much rather spend my time with Alice anyway.

**We can watch whatever you want. I am somewhat partial to that vampire/human love story that everyone is raving about.**

Now my smile fell a little. I was surprised. A love story between a human and a vampire? Really?

**Vampires?** **I am not that fond of vampires, but sure. I heard the lead is cute. **

I finished and returned the sheet back to Alice. She read my reply and suddenly wore a frown. _'Damn, I hope I did not insult her,' _my mind anxiously wondered.

* * *

APOV

Not that fond of vampires? I was not sure if I should be amused or insulted by this. The answer, 'gee, Bella, I thought you were fond of me,' came to my mind, yet, that probably would not go over too well. Suddenly, I wondered if my movie idea was really such a good idea. Sadly, my reasoning was usually fought into a corner by my impatience. This impatience, combined with my desire to be near Bella made the logical part of me all but disappear. Consequently, I found myself unable to stay away from her. Maybe that was my answer to how I should handle this situation. I would just go with the flow and see where all of this leads. As soon as I decided this, a tranquil feeling settled over me that I have not felt in what seems forever, if ever, that is.

**I kind of like vampires. The lead is cute, huh? So, we will go? Port Angeles? We could catch the 7 o'clock showing. I could pick you up, say, at 6 o'clock?**

I nervously handed the paper to Bella. She read it and smiled? _'That is a good sign, right?'_ even my mind felt nervous.

**Yes, that sounds good. I would much rather go to the movie than freeze at the beach, even if it is to see **_**Crepuscule**_**.**

Bella wrote back. I snickered, reading her reply.

**So, I am just a convenient escape? I am hurt, Bella! **

I added a smiling face, just in case.

**Naturally, what else would you be, Alice?**

Bella wrote, which was also accompanied by a smiling face. Suddenly, my sight blurred and I was captured in a vision:

"_Alice, you are freezing," Bella exclaimed while we were sitting in the movie theater. She had grabbed my hand because a noise from a scene of Crepuscule had startled her. "Sorry" I muttered, turning my gaze back to the screen. My breathing became shallow and I hoped Bella would just let it go. "You are always so cold," Bella whispered. No such luck. "I know," I pressed out the same moment Bella pushed up the armrest between us, encased both of my hands with her own and placed them on her lap._

Whoa, I inhaled sharply, and my body started to tremble a little. I looked at Bella and she wore a worried, yet curious expression.

"Alice, are you alright?"

"Yes, headaches," I smiled apologetically and shrugged my shoulders a little.

'_This is going to get very complicated'_ my mind offered, already marveling at the difficult proposition to build a friendship with a human, all the while concealing my true identity.

* * *

**One question, would you prefer shorter updates and therefore get updates more often, or do you want to keep the length of between 3000 and 4000 words, like it is currently?**

**Questions, comments, concerns, constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks for reading!  
**


	3. Change Her And Be Done With It?

**Sorry for the wait, but I have a cold since Friday and I still feel like a truck ran over me. So, I don't know when I will be able to post the next chapter. I will try to not let you wait too long. Enjoy, and thanks for reading. **

**Also, thanks again to everyone who reviewed the story and/or added me and the story to your alerts and favorites. I appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, but maybe the plot changes?**

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 3**

**Change Her And Be Done With It?**

BPOV

I felt sorry for Alice, these headaches must be awful. Nevertheless, I was excited that Alice wanted to go see a movie with me. She seemed so sweet and funny. I really liked the idea of getting to know her better.

The rest of the day flew by and for the rest of the week Alice and I continued with our playful banter. I always looked forward to seeing her at school; I just wished I could stop blushing so easily around her. Somehow, though, I had the impression that Alice enjoyed making me blush. Whenever I blushed, she would always giggle in that wind chime voice of hers and then continue to wear a smug little smile on her beautiful elfin face. Naturally, I could not really stay mad at the little pixie. I started calling her that, much to her mock displeasure. She kept saying that calling her pixie was a veiled attack on her height. Well, if the shoe fits…

Friday came and so did my nervousness about our movie night. Mike had been bumped when I told him that I would not join them at the beach. While I was not that interested in _Crepuscule, _I was more than interested in spending more time with Alice. I fretted over what to wear, which is quite unusual for me. Since Alice always looked so well groomed though, I tried not to look too shabby next to her. Finally, I decided to wear my only nice black slack pants with a dark red shirt. I did not want to give the impression that this was a date, or anything, but that doesn't mean that couldn't look nice. Once I was done, I sighed and sat down on my bed. I was done half an hour early, so I had an extra 30 minutes to become even more nervous, _'Great!'_ my mind pouted when suddenly the doorbell rang. _'Who is that,'_ I wondered while getting up to open the door.

In front of the door, in all her glory, stood Alice, smiling at me as if I was an early Christmas present or something equally delightful.

* * *

APOV

I just could not wait anymore; I was so excited to see Bella that I arrived at her house early. Of course, by that time I already knew, thanks to my earlier vision, that Bella would be ready half an hour early. I rang the doorbell and a short moment later, a surprised Bella opened the door for me.

"Hello Bella. I hope you don't mind me being a little bit early, but I was in the area, so I just decided to come right to your house and pick you up," I smiled, while drinking in her sight and scent. I cannot believe I had missed her since I had last seen her at school today. Edward and Rose were still skeptical about my budding friendship with Bella, but I told them to mind their own business. My friendship with Bella was not open for discussion.

"Alice! Hello, and of course I don't mind, actually, I just finished getting ready. Uh, do you want to come in?" Bella asked smiling.

"Sure, to your room?" I asked curiously.

"Uh, yes, of course," Bella answered, a little awkwardly and immediately started to sport the most adorable blush. These blushes were a double-edged sword, come to think about it. On one hand, they were so adorable that I wanted to see them on Bella. On the other hand, though, they also intensified the burning in my throat and made me long for both her closeness and her blood, even more. Bella's scent was amazing and I craved it, but it also came with the price of a constant ache. Yet, it was a price I did not mind paying, as long as it meant I was able to spend more time with Bella.

Once I stepped into her room, I froze for a moment and had to hold my breath. Her scent, magnified in this room, hit me like the wave of a raging flood and threatened to drown me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down and prevent my eyes from turning black. I did not want Bella to become suspicious of me.

"So, do you want to sit down?" Bella turned around to face me.

"Yes, thank you," I replied and sat down on Bella's bed.

"Are you looking forward to seeing the movie?" Bella suddenly inquired, while sitting down next to me.

"Well, yes, I always enjoy romantic movies and unlike you, I also happen to like vampires," I chuckled lightly and then asked impulsively, "Why do you not like vampires, anyway?"

"I don't know" Bella scrunched up her face a little, "I mean, I know that vampires are not real, but they still kind of freak me out. They drink blood! I mean, I just need to smell blood and I faint. Besides, they live forever and who wants to live forever, anyway?" Bella finished. I know she does not know that I am a vampire, but her words still stung, especially the fact that vampires freaked her out.

"Alice? I am sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or dismiss something you like," Bella actually sounded a little worried. I had not even noticed that I had gotten introspective for a moment.

"No, it is fine, Bella, do not worry about this." I tried to reassure her.

"Anyway, you want to get going?" You might want to get some popcorn before the movie starts?" I continued on, smiling at Bella. Yes, I had done my research. Humans eat popcorn at the movies.

"Yes, let's go," Bella got up and walked to the door.

"A Porsche, Alice, really?" Bella exclaimed a little incredulous.

'_She does not like my car?'_ my mind asked a little hurt.

"You do not like it?" I suddenly sounded a little wounded. Bella just rolled her eyes and got into the car.

"I am sorry that I seem so critical of stuff you like today. And it is not that I don't like the car, it is just, I don't know, it is a Porsche, Alice, a canary yellow Porsche and we're in High School!"

"So, the color is the problem or that we are in High School?" I inquired curiously.

"No, I mean, yes, the color fits you, somehow, it is just, kids don't usually drive a Porsche while attending Public High School, you know?" Bella now seemed to be pleading with me.

"I know," I started laughing. "I am just messing with you, Bella," I started laughing, whereupon Bella grumbled,

"Not nice, Pixie, not nice at all," under her breath.

"Now, who is not nice, Bella!" I reprimanded her playfully, while driving off to Port Angeles to see _Crepuscule._

_

* * *

_

BPOV

Alice was speeding, naturally. She is such a little speed demon. The first time I rode in a car with her I nearly had a heart attack when I looked at the speedometer. Since then, she has some pity on me and drives a little slower. That does not mean she even considered the speed limit. Everything seemed so easy and effortless to Alice, driving was no exception.

"Do you want to get something to eat or drink before we go to the movie theater?" Alice suddenly spoke up.

"No, thanks, I am good. Do you want to get something? I returned the question.

"No, I am good too," Alice smiled and cocked her head a little.

Once we got to the movie theater, we chose two seats in the back and soon afterwards, the movie started to play. I know I must have missed half of the beginning because I was still so nervous. Eventually, _Crepuscule _managed to grab my attention. Both lead characters, William and Nava, were engaging and beautiful, and their love story was captivating and at the same time quite sad. A relationship between a human and a vampire did seem doomed from the start. I mean, one of them would get old, wrinkly and die, while the other would stay young and beautiful and get to live forever. Can you spell heartbreak? Then again, William could just change Nava into a vampire and be done with it. How hard could it be? Suddenly, I heard Alice heave a little sigh next to me and I couldn't hold back my grin when I turned to look at her. Who would have thought that the Pixie is such a sucker for romantic movies? I was still looking at her when a loud screeching noise on the screen startled me to the point where I almost jumped out of my seat. I startle easily and in such situations, my hands usually try to hold on to anything that is nearby. Consequently, my hands grabbed Alice's hands, which were lying on her lap. _'Whoa, her hands are ice cold!'_ my mind exclaimed immediately, whereupon my mouth, again lacking a filter, whispered,

"Alice, you are freezing!"

"Sorry" Alice muttered, trying to withdraw her hands, which I prevented.

"You are always so cold," I continued, all the while rolling my eyes at myself.

"I know," was all Alice whispered back.

On impulse, I let go of her hands, pushed up the armrest between us and reclaimed both of her hands, pulling them into my lap in an attempt to warm them. All the while, I kept looking at the screen, since I was too embarrassed even to look at Alice.

* * *

APOV

Even though I knew this would happen, it still jolted me and my body started to shake slightly. Bella's hand felt so warm, I had to stop my body from leaning into hers. _'Yes, I am cold and I am afraid you will no longer want to hold my hands once you know,'_ my insecurities were slowly getting to me. I know, I have only known Bella for such a short time, but I still felt as if I was deceiving her by keeping my true nature a secret. Moreover, I was plagued by the fear that she only felt drawn to me because of the alluring aura the predator in me exuded in order to lure in its prey. My morose thoughts made me heave a sigh.

"Are you alright?" Bella turned to whisper into my ear. Thankfully, I had gone hunting earlier in the day or I would have been hard pressed not to attack her the moment she whispered into my ear. Having Bella this close to me caused havoc to my system. She smelled so delicious; I had to stop myself from groaning aloud.

"Yes," was all I managed to reply, while lightly squeezing her hand.

We remained in this position for the rest of the movie, which I did not mind at all. Even though it was hard being this close to Bella, it was also very comforting and gratifying. In the end, the hardship that her closeness caused was well worth it. Close to the end of the movie, Bella actually leaned her head on my shoulder for a moment, before she realized what she was doing and consequently sat back upright again. She kept holding onto my hand though, which made me smile. I wondered what she thought of the movie and the relationship between William and Nava.

* * *

BPOV

On the drive back from the movie theater, we started to discuss _Crepuscule_, the movie that I liked better than I thought I would.

"Do you like vampires better now?" Alice asked smiling, starting the discussion.

"Well, the Owen's were alright, I guess," I shrugged my shoulders. "I liked that they did not transform into monsters with bumpy foreheads, a la Buffy," I continued and Alice snorted at my comment. "Still, drinking blood is just gross, even if it is just from donated blood bags."

"Yes, that is a nice change from killing humans," Alice remarked seriously.

"I guess. On the other hand, vampires are predators and humans are their natural prey. Why would they choose only to drink from donated blood bags? I turned my head to look at Alice.

"Maybe they do not want to be monsters," Alice uttered contemplatively.

"But Alice, aren't vampires by definition monsters? They are dead or undead and in order to survive they have to drink blood. Humans are their natural prey, which is why in most movies and books, they kill humans and don't just drink blood from donated blood bags. Moreover, they are also often portrayed as soulless, so, if not monsters, what would you call vampires instead?" I chuckled a little but froze once I saw Alice stiffen at my comments. _'You idiot! Why do you keep forgetting that she likes vampires?'_ my mind complained.

"Sad? Lonely? They walk both worlds and belong to neither. They live forever, which I am sure is quite painful. Do you really think the Owen's have no soul?" Alice looked at me pleadingly, her eyes carried such an intense sadness, it almost took my breath away. _'Why is this so important to her?_' my mind asked confused.

"I guess I never thought about how sad or lonely such an existence could be. And no, with the comment about the lack of soul of vampires, I was talking about the usual description of vampires, you know, like in Buffy and Dracula and all that. The Owen's family was so loving in the movie and overall, they were good people, you know? So, I think they have a soul. Why is this so important to you, Alice?" I finished my explanation.

"Maybe because I always had such a romanticized view of vampires? How could they love if they did not have a soul?" Alice gave me a semi-smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"That's a good argument, but keep in mind, I am already on your side, here. Remember? I do believe that the Owen's have souls." I smiled at Alice.

"Yes, that is true. Anyway, what do you think of the love story between William and Nava?" Alice looked at me curiously.

"It was sweet, a little sad, too. Then again, William is just plain stupid. I mean, they love each other and Nava has clearly stated that she wants to be a vampire. Why not just change her and be done with it?" Right after I said this, my body flew forward due to Alice's stomping hard on the brakes. The seatbelt caught my flight, but not before pressing out all air out of my body.

"Alice?" I exclaimed. "What happened?"

* * *

APOV

Change Nava and be done with it? I could not believe my ears. I was actually so shocked I slammed down on the brakes, hard. Before, I had been mainly hurt by Bella's perceptions regarding vampires, but this last comment just shocked me.

"But then William would condemn Nava to becoming a monster, too. Isn't that what you said? Vampires are monsters; therefore, William changing Nava for the selfish reason of not wanting to lose her would make him the worst kind of monster. If he truly loves her, he will let her go and so she can live her life as a human," I argued vehemently.

"This is why you almost made me crash through the windshield? Bella looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"You are so dramatic sometimes, Bella. You wore your seatbelt; there was no danger of you crashing through the windshield. Besides, I stopped because I thought I saw a deer. Why can we not continue our discussion, just because we stopped driving?" I tried to sound convincing.

"No sure, we can continue our discussion; I was just a little startled. You are pretty weird though, sometimes, Alice" Bella looked at me smiling.

"Yes, that is part of my charm," I replied, smiling broadly at Bella, who immediately started to blush a lovely shade of crimson and averted her eyes.

Once Bella blushed, her scent hit me full force again. I stopped breathing and tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

"Alice, are your headaches back?" Bella looked at me worriedly.

"A little, but do not worry about this, ok? I am fine," I pressed out, resuming my breathing and trying to give Bella a reassuring smile.

"If you say so," Bella still wore a little frown.

"So, what do you think about what I said?" I asked Bella, starting to drive back home.

"Huh? About what?" Bella looked at me quizzically.

"That's how you listen to me, huh? I explained why it is not that easy for William to just go ahead and turn Nava into a vampire," I chuckled a little. I know, I was acting like a dog with his bone, but I just wanted to know what Bella thought about all of this.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Your little pit stop made me lose my train of thought," Bella started. "Yes, I said vampires are monsters, but I don't think the Owen's really fit into that category. Besides, in the end, Nava has the right to make her own decisions. If her choice is to spend her life with William, how else could she do that but as a vampire? They would never be equals, otherwise." Bella finished, looking at me with an open expression.

"Maybe. I still think to change Nava is somewhat egoistical on William's part," I spoke softly.

"But I thought you like vampires? Why are you suddenly against them?" Bella looked at me confused.

"Yes, I like them, but I do not think their existence is that easy, and I don't know, I would have trouble with the idea of killing the person I love so that they could be by my side forever," I finished gently.

"Yeah, I guess. I can see what you mean," Bella said thoughtfully. "Still, wanting to be together is not selfish. Would you leave her behind, if you were William, I mean? Or would you leave him, if you were Nava?" Bella seemed to stumble over her words.

I thought it was a little weird that she first asked me if I would leave Nava behind, putting me right away in the shoes of the vampire.

"I think in the end, I would let my partner decide, if I were in William's shoes, that is. And yes, if I were in Nava's position, I would not want to leave my partner either. Then again, they could also have a relationship for as long as Nava is alive, that way they could be together and she could remain human." I uttered carefully.

"Yeah, right. And when Nava is 80 and has a 17 year old boyfriend, that's going to be a blast." Bella snorted.

"You think William would stop loving Nava because she aged?" I asked incredulously.

"No, I did not mean it that way," Bella sighed. "I guess it all boils down to them never being equals, if she stays human, that is. How can you have a balanced relationship in such a situation? Also, you talk about condemning Nava to the life of a vampire, but if you let her stay human, you condemn William to a broken hard because he has to watch the person he loves the most die, after what, 80 measly years? And William will live forever! That is just cruel, Alice! Changing Nava into a vampire is the only sensible thing to do." Bella was on a roll now.

I just smiled at her. For someone who is not that fond of vampires, she sure was arguing their case. _'If she only knew'_, my mind sighed. _'I wish I could tell you, Bella. But then again, you might never want to see me again once you find out that I am a vampire,'_ my mind seemed to already mourn the loss of Bella's friendship.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Comments, concerns, and constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Also, feel free to tell me that the story stinks, if that is how you feel :-)**


	4. Uh, Hello? Seriously!

**A little shorter, but I wanted to get it out tonight. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading, all the comments and alerts. I appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing, besides any plot changes.**

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 4**

**Uh, Hello? Seriously?**

BPOV

'_Why is this so important to her?'_ my mind wondered once more, unable to come up with a convincing answer.

When we arrived back home I was unsure if I should invite Alice back in or not. Is 10 o'clock on a Friday night too late to invite a friend up to your room? _'Why not let Alice decide that?'_ my mind helpfully suggested.

"Do you want to come up to my room for a bit or do you have to get up early tomorrow?" I turned towards Alice once the car halted in front of my house.

"Yes, why not? And no, Bella, I do not have to get up early tomorrow since my only commitment tomorrow is to meet you at 2 o'clock at the library," Alice smiled and got out of the car. I blushed at that, naturally.

"Well, if we had seen all this coming, you could have just stayed over for a sleepover and we could have worked on our project tomorrow morning," I suggested, already loathing the notion of Alice leaving.

"I don't know, I do not want to crowd you, Bella," Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"Crowd me, Pixie? Really?" I started laughing.

"There is no reason whatsoever for you to keep insulting my height, Isabella!" Alice playfully scolded me.

"I'm sorry, just stop calling me Isabella. That sounds just wrong, especially coming from you," I raised my hands in mock surrender. "But I am serious, Alice. A sleepover sounds like fun, don't you think? And I am sure Charlie wouldn't mind either. Pretty please?" I tried to give her my most pleading look. Yes, I'm aware that I sounded really desperate, but this was Alice, after all. I just loved being around her.

* * *

APOV

I do not think I have ever been so tempted to do something so wrong, dangerous and yet so utterly delightful at the same time. First off, staying overnight at Bella's place could cause serious holes in my cover. Then again, I could just eat something; I would just have to throw it up later. Moreover, even though I had hunted earlier today, being surrounded by Bella for so long might be pushing my luck a bit. Yet, here she was, looking at me pleadingly with her beautiful brown eyes. _'How am I supposed to resist this?'_ my mind questioned frustrated. This was something I desired, so how do you resist something you want? I was not good at denying myself what I desire, that was more Edward's department. Yes, I was capable of denying myself human blood, but that was an entirely different matter.

"Ok, Bella," I sighed dramatically. "If you are really not sick of me yet, I'll stay the night." I was a creature driven to seek out pleasure, after all.

* * *

BPOV

'_Yay!'_ my mind cheered, though I tried playing it down, I didn't want to sound like a complete dork who is squealing in delight, so I opted to say,

"Cool," and after a moment, continue with, "I will even lend you some of my pajamas." I started to laugh and ran up the stairs, followed by a chuckling Alice.

"I like you room," Alice smiled, twirling around herself.

I snorted. "Somehow I find that hard to believe, especially since it looks pretty much the same from when I was 10 years old."

"Be that as it may, Bella, your room still has a lot of yourself in it. It smells just like you do," Alice's smile fell a little at that.

"My smell, Alice? Is that a polite way of telling me that I stink? I glared at her playfully.

"No, Bella, of course not! You actually smell good!" Alice replied vehemently.

"OK?" I kinda stretched that word a little.

"No, I just meant that your room smells like you, you know? Like the body lotions you use, for example," Alice continued quickly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm just messing with you, Pixie," I laughed.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Stop insulting me!" Alice tried to look stern, but the mischievous glint in her eyes belied her ire.

"Well, what you're gonna do, Pixie?" I started laughing again.

Alice seemed to contemplate this question for a moment, then gave me one of her dazzling smiles and deadpanned,

"Well, I guess I will hog the covers and might even kick you out of your own bed? How is that for a start, Ms. Swan?"

"You wouldn't dare! For that threat alone I should make you sleep on the floor," I said, trying to sound sincere.

"I would dare, too! Besides, you and I both know that there is no way I will sleep on the floor!" now it was Alice's turn to laugh.

"No, I guess you won't. Still, be nice!" I chuckled.

"Look who's talking. You are the one who cannot stop dishing out low blows regarding my height," Alice smiled at me challengingly.

"But Alice, pixie does not just refer to your height. It is your whole demeanor and besides, pixies are cute" I immediately blushed after saying this. _'Filter, brain, start acting like a damn filter for my mouth'_ my mind whined.

"So, you think I am cute?" Alice, of course, wouldn't have just let this one go.

I sighed, "Yes?" ended up being all I could say before blushing furiously again.

"Well, I guess under those circumstances you are forgiven for all those pixie remarks," Alice was smiling roguishly.

"How kind of you," I retorted sarcastically.

"Also part of my charm," Alice beamed.

"Ok, well, do you want to get ready for bed, I mean we can still talk and so, I just thought it might be more comfortable," I suggested awkwardly.

"Yes, sure, why not?" Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I think I have to be rude and claim the bathroom first, Pixie," I smiled and dashed for the bathroom amidst Alice's bell chime laughter.

Inside the bathroom, the sudden reality of this situation hit me; I was going to share my bed with Alice. Well, at least it was a queen-size bed, so space wouldn't be an issue. Still, my nervousness from before the movie did not even compare with how beyond nervous I felt at this moment. My heart started to beat so fast, you would think I just finished running a marathon. _'Damn, Bella, calm down and get a grip on yourself. You've had sleepovers before. Why is this any different?_' I tried to calm myself down while my hands desperately gripped the edge of the sink in front of me.

* * *

APOV

'_So, why did I agree to this again?'_ my mind started to wonder if it was still in the right body or if I had left it behind somewhere down the road in Port Angeles. I could understand that sentiment, I even almost agreed with it. My family, especially Edward and Rosalie are going to be so mad at me for this. _'Now I am supposed to 'sleep' the night next to Bella'_ my mind started to laugh, it had a certain hysterical edge to it. Out of the top of my head, I could think of ten, twenty, even a million reasons as to why this was a bad idea. Then again, I hardly ever denied myself something I really wanted, so why should this have been any different? I wanted to be close to Bella. _'Well, you managed that, alright,'_ my mind sneered. Wow, my mind was clearly annoyed at me. I chortled a little, I could see why Edward was sometimes so amused listening to my internal debates.

I was still sitting on Bella's bed contemplating my little dilemma when I suddenly heard Bella's heart rate pick up. _'What happened? Is she all right?'_ my mind wondered astonished. I got up immediately and was on my way to the bathroom door, still listening to Bella's thunderous heart rate when I heard the shower start. I froze. _'Ok, I guess that means she is all right?' _my mind asked. I sat back down; suddenly very glad I did not storm into the bathroom. That would have been embarrassing. If I could have blushed, my face would have been crimson, just thinking about the consequences of me storming into the bathroom and being confronted with a very nude Bella. I was still reeling from the sound of Bella's heartbeat, pumping all that delicious blood through her veins, and the image I would have seen had I entered the bathroom, when Bella suddenly reappeared into the room.

"I put out some towels for you and here is a new toothbrush," Bella held out the toothbrush to me. "Oh, and here," she started to rummage through one of her drawers, "is the pajama I promised to lend you. Well, the t-shirt and shorts anyway, since I don't own any pajamas" Bella shrugged and handed me the clothes.

"Thank you. I will survive not wearing a pajama for one night," I smiled sweetly at her.

"I am sure. Even though, you might drown in those clothes, Pixie," she started to laugh.

"Did you hear anything? I thought I heard an obnoxious noise, but I guess that was just my imagination," I looked around the room, glancing everywhere but at Bella, shrugged my shoulders and went into the bathroom. Bella was still laughing when I closed the bathroom door.

I took a quick shower; I do enjoy taking hot showers since the contrast between the warmth of the water and my cool skin felt amazing. After finishing in the bathroom, and I made the mental note to get Bella's toothpaste for myself, I liked the taste; I went back outside, dressed in Bella's t-shirt and shorts. This was really the hardest part so far because now I had to wear her scent on my body. _'Talk about drowning in temptation,'_ my mind sighed.

"Wow, Alice, you were fast and you even managed not to drown in my clothes," Bella chuckled, already lying in bed.

"Ha, ha, Bella. You are a regular comedian tonight," I raised my eyebrow at her and went to join her.

"Well, I guess that is part of my charm," Bella giggled.

I had to laugh at that, I really liked Bella's sense of humor.

Once I was lying next to Bella, I did not know at first how this was going to work. How do people sleep? It is not as if I remembered this activity from my human years.

"Lights on or off?" Bella interrupted my contemplation.

"Off?" I replied tentatively, as Bella switched off the lights a second later. At first, we were just lying there, amidst an almost awkward silence. My throat burned viciously, but at the same time, I had rarely felt so content in my life.

"So, do you have ideas for our project tomorrow?" I was making small talk, god, what is this girl doing to me? I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I read the relevant chapters in the book, but, let's just leave the schoolwork talk for tomorrow, ok?" Bella answered slowly.

"Yes," was all I could say.

"Tell me more about your family. You're all adopted, right?" Bella asked curiously.

"Yes, Carlisle and Esme adopted all of us. They are the best parents anyone could wish for, actually. Carlisle is a doctor here at Forks Hospital, and I have rarely met another person capable of the same amount of compassion. Esme, his wife, is an interior designer and she is just so calm and loving. As for my siblings, well they are quite the characters. Edward, you know him from biology, is very intense, yet, he is also very quiet and calm. He loves to play the piano or read books that seem to never end. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy reading a good book too, but Edward? I do not think there are many books he has not read yet. He also gets a little broody sometimes, but he is a good brother and I love him. I love all of my family, actually. Emmett and Rosalie are a couple, and sometimes they are so lovey-dovey around each other, you are in need of an insulin shot, if you happen to be unfortunate enough to be around them. Rosalie often comes across as brusque and rude, but she is just not that much of a people person and is also very protective of her family. She really enjoys fashion, like me" I started laughing as Bella scrunched up her face at that. "She also loves cars and is really good at fixing them, too. Not necessarily something people would expect when they look at Rose." I drifted off into contemplation for a moment, but was brought back by Bella asking,

"And the rest?" she still sounded interested.

"Oh, yes. Well, there is Emmett, god, he is such a goof! You know, he is so big and tall that he often comes across as quite serious and intimidating, but let me tell you, he is more like a big teddy bear who loves teasing us along with playing his obnoxiously loud video games. Jasper. Well, he is quite good at reading people and figuring out how they feel. He is sort of a calming presence. Most of all though, he is very quiet and likes to keep to himself. Jasper and I are the newest additions to the family and we kept together, in the beginning. So much so that everyone thought we were a couple, too." I continued.

"Are you and Jasper together?" Bella interrupted me, sounding almost a little perturbed by that prospect.

"No, we are not, we never were, actually. We just get along really well," I answered, smiling into the dark.

"What about you? Did you leave a boyfriend behind in Phoenix? Or did someone in Forks peek your interest?" I inquired carefully, not sure that I wanted to hear the answer to that.

"No, I did not leave anybody behind," Bella started to laugh. "As for Forks, well, I just got here and so far I've spent most of my time with you."

'_That does not really answer the question!' _my mind spoke up, protesting Bella's evasion.

"So, I will take that as a no, Bella?" of course I could not just let that go.

"I don't know, Pixie. I haven't really thought about anyone in those terms. So far, I am just trying to get adjusted to Forks and make some friends." Bella answered thoughtfully.

"And you, Alice? Anyone you're interested in?" Bella asked evenly.

"That depends how you define interested, Bella," I answered without really saying anything.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bella almost sounded exasperated, and I started to laugh.

"Well, do you mean interested as in finding someone interesting, or interested as in, romantically?" I acted as if I was unsure of the meaning behind her question.

"You know exactly what I am asking, Alice!" Bella sighed.

"Yes, I do and no, I don't think I have a romantic interest at the moment," I said carefully. That was not necessarily a lie. I was still unsure what to make of my interest in Bella. I wanted to be near her and I craved her scent, which also drove me near the brink of insanity, but did that mean I was in love with her? I was not sure and it was not as if I had a myriad of experiences in that matter. I guess only time would show what was really going on. Especially, since I still have not had a vision regarding my growing relationship with Bella. I hated being this blind. Maybe, in order to see something, I actually had to make a decision and that was exactly what terrified me. Yet, how to make such a decision, when I was still worried that I was mistaking the craving for Bella's blood of the vampire in me with my actual feelings for Bella?

"Too bad," Bella sighed after a few minutes of silence. "We could have thought of strategies as to how to gain your love interests attention," Bella finished, stifling a yawn.

That stung. Yes, I was not sure if I was romantically interested in Bella, but that she did not seem to have any issue with me being interested in someone else, kind of hurts.

"Yes, too bad," I sighed, trying to keep my disappointment out of my voice.

"I guess we should probably go to sleep now," Bella started to yawn.

"Ok, good night, Bella. Sweet dreams," I would let her be the judge of this sleeping business, it is not as if I will sleep tonight, or ever, for that matter.

"Good night, Alice. Sleep tight. Thanks for staying with me tonight," Bella sounded really tired all of a sudden. _'Do people really get tired and then fall asleep this quickly?'_ my mind sounded genuinely curious.

"You are very welcome, Bella. I enjoy spending time with you," I whispered.

"Mmh-e too," Bella mumbled and turned onto her side, facing me. Her eyes were closed and her breathing evened out immediately, while her heart rate slowly started to drop. She was asleep.

I heaved a sigh, _'what am I going to do?'_ my mind wondered. Would she notice if I were to leave and come back before dawn? But then, I heard that humans sometimes wake up during the night. Better not risk this, it is too much of a gamble. If she woke up and found me gone, that would open way too many questions that I could not possibly answer.

My throat was on fire, once I had no longer our discussion as a distraction, the slow burn from earlier turned into an inferno. In the quiet of the room with only Bella and her scent engulfing me, I felt like someone had shoved a knife down my throat. _'I should have said no to this!'_ my mind grumbled agitatedly. _'What if I kill her?'_ my mind was such a professional worrier, yet, my fears were not necessarily unwarranted. I was still engaged in my internal struggle, when Bella suddenly shifted and snuggled into me, while wrapping her right arm over my hip_. 'Nice, because this is going to make this situation so much better!'_ my mind sneered. _'Well, if I am in hell, I might as well enjoy the heavenly parts of it,'_ I decided, the same moment Bella whispered my name and strengthened her hold on my hip.

'_Uh, hello? Seriously?'_ my mind was about to leave me for good and was likely already composing an add in search for better and smarter lodging.

* * *

**Comments, questions, concern, and constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Please also feel free to tell me if you do not like the story, I am not easily insulted. Also, feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions. I try to answer each review as quickly as possible. You guys are amazing! Thanks!**


	5. Dream Stalking? AKA Come again?

**Sorry that it took me so long to update this story, but real life had me in its evil clutches and refused to let go. Overall, it is my goal to update at least once a week.**

**Thank you so much again for all the reviews, story alerts and for making this one of your favorite stories. I really appreciate all of this.**

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The beginning of this chapter is the result of a request from **shaz89**, so, if you don't like it, go knock on her door :-)

**Disclaimer**: I still own nothing but plot changes.

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 5**

**Dream Stalking? AKA Come again?**

BPOV

It had never occurred to me that Alice could have a boyfriend. Is she really with Jasper? I had to ask,

"Are you and Jasper together?" I really didn't like that idea. Jaspers seemed nice though, still, I doubted he'd be right for Alice.

"No, we are not, we never were, actually. We just get along really well," Alice sounded almost wistful. My stomach started churning. _'Why is this upsetting? Alice surely could do worse than Jasper?'_ my mind pointed out confused.

Alice's next question brought me out of my reflection,

"What about you? Did you leave a boyfriend behind in Phoenix? Or did someone in Forks peek your interest?"

I had to laugh at that. "No, I did not leave anybody behind." The guys at my old High School paid me no attention, not that I really minded, though. And Forks? Please, like who, Mike? '_Yeah, right, Jessica would tear my head off and use it during her next bowling game?' _ "As for Forks, well, I just got here and so far I've spent most of my time with you." That just didn't really make any sense. Alice obviously agreed, considering her next question,

"So, I will take that as a no, Bella?"

Well, I guess? I mean, I would know if I was interested in someone, right? All I could say was,

"I don't know, Pixie. I haven't really thought about anyone in those terms. So far, I am just trying to get adjusted to Forks and make some friends." I just loved calling her pixie! Her facial expression was too cute, uh, comical, whenever I said that. I still believed that she secretly liked it when I called her that. Now it was my turn, though,

"And you, Alice? Anyone you're interested in?" I asked, not really sure, I wanted to hear the answer.

"That depends how you define interested, Bella," Alice answered quickly.

'_What does that mean?'_ my mind asked confused. I mean, she knew very well what I really wanted to know. That sneak was avoiding the answer.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I even sounded exasperated in my head and right away, that fiendish pixie started to laugh.

"Well, do you mean interested as in finding someone interesting, or interested as in, romantically?" I can't believe Alice even tried to sound serious with that ridiculous answer. I mean, duh?

"You know exactly what I am asking, Alice!" I had to sigh. Why was she avoiding this question, I was confused.

"Yes, I do and no, I don't think I have a romantic interest at the moment," Alice stated carefully.

'_Huh, all that and she is not interested in anyone?'_ my mind was even more confused now. I really liked her answer, though. I don't know why, but the thought of Alice being interested in anyone didn't sit very well with me. I was sure that none of the guys I knew would be good enough for her. Even though I was happy, I decided not to show this, I mean, that would be just too awkward, right? How would I have explained that? So, instead, I sighed,

"Too bad," and continued with "we could have thought of strategies as to how to gain your love interests attention." God, I was tired all of a sudden and stifled a yawn.

"Yes, too bad," Alice sighed, and her voice had a strange tone to it that I couldn't really place. I guess I am too tired to really be that perceptive.

"I guess we should probably go to sleep now," I suggested yawning.

"Ok, good night, Bella. Sweet dreams," Alice's melodic voice replied.

"Good night, Alice. Sleep tight. Thanks for staying with me tonight," I could hardly keep my eyes open.

"You are very welcome, Bella. I enjoy spending time with you," Alice whispered, even when speaking so low her voice sounded so beautiful and sweet, my mind started to fog and I hardly got out,

"Mmh-e too," before I fell asleep, with my beautiful Alice lying right next to me.

* * *

The next moment I remember had me sitting at the beach. I guess it must have been La Push, though I hadn't been there in what seemed like forever. At first, I was alone, then, I was sitting next to Angela, Eric, Jessica and Mike, and we were all sitting around a bonfire. The others were joking amongst themselves, while I was just staring at the flames. Suddenly, the wind picked up speed and I looked up towards the ocean. Right at the edge of the water stood a tall figure with long dark hair. That person was standing there motionless, just staring out at the ocean. From the distance, I could not even make out if it was a boy or a girl. Then, the landscape changed and I saw a scene from _Crepuscule_ played out, only it was like looking into a mirror. I was William and Alice was Nava. Yet, even though I was in that scene, I was also watching it as if it was a movie on the screen in front of me. Nava, or better, Alice appeared to be almost frightened when she was looking at me.

"I know what you are," Alice whispered.

"Say it," I heard William, or better myself, press out.

Alice just kept staring at me and she looked so sad and upset.

"Alice?" I called, trying to make sure she was all right. "Alice, what is it? What happened? Why are you so scared?" I tried to get a hold of her, but she slipped through my grasp, as if she were a mere image. I kept calling her name, but I could no longer see her anywhere.

* * *

APOV

"Alice? Alice?" Bella kept repeating my name and suddenly started to claw at my body, as if trying to make sure I was still in one piece. Everywhere her hands touched me, a blazing heat spread over my skin. My breathing accelerated and all I could do was staring transfixed at Bella's hands, as they kept moving over my body.

'_Wake her up!'_ my mind frantically demanded. _'How?'_ I wondered confused. And what was going on anyway? Why did Bella keep calling out my name like that? The moment one of her hands started to edge closer to my breasts I immediately jumped out of the bed and came to an abrupt halt right next to it. My breathing sounded ragged, funny, considering I did not even need to breathe.

"Alice?" Bella appeared to wake up. Her hands kept searching the bed for, what I assumed to be, me, while she slowly lifted her upper body off the bed and rested her elbows on the mattress. She looked so sleepy. After blinking her eyes a few times, she turned around to turn on her night light.

"Alice?" her voice sounded raspy and did nothing to assist in my attempt to calm down my breathing. Her eyes finally focused on me and she looked confused.

"Alice, why are you standing next to the bed? Are you all right?"

* * *

BPOV

What was going on? One minute I was sleeping, the next I was awake and Alice was out of the bed. _'Why is she standing next to the bed? Wait, why is she breathing so fast?'_ my mind couldn't grasp what was going on.

"Oh, did you just come back from the bathroom?" it suddenly occurred to me that this could explain why she was out of bed. Her breathing, on the other hand, was still up for debate, though.

"Huh? No, I, uh, sorry? Alice looked speechless and flustered as she slipped back under the covers in one fluid motion. I didn't think I had ever experienced Alice speechless. Actually, she even looked a little lost, lying next to me while her eyes stared intently at the ceiling.

"Are you really ok? Did your headaches come back? Please Alice, what is it?" I started to panic a little. What was going on?

"I'm fine, Bella," Alice sighed, closing her eyes, and then she went on to cover her eyes with her right arm.

'_Very convincing,'_ my mind scoffed sarcastically and continued to protest, _'that's really not how fine looks like!'_ "Depends," I whispered, while my eyes immediately widened at my comment. I had to shake my head to clear my mind. _'What was that?'_ my mind asked confused.

"What depends, Bella?" Alice removed her arm from her eyes and turned to look at me.

'_Shit. She heard that?'_ my mind complained scandalized.

"Uh, nothing, just thinking. So, what happened?" I tried to distract her. Then again, was it really and act of distraction if you ask a question you would have asked anyway, and to which you desperately want to hear the answer? Huh. _'I think I am too sleepy to be having such complicated thoughts'_ my mind yawned.

"I believe you had a nightmare," Alice spoke hesitantly, looking away again.

"And you thought the correct response to this was to get out of bed?" I know I sounded both hurt and confused, but when I was this tired and sleepy I appeared incapable to hide my true feelings. And the idea of Alice getting out of bed when I was having a nightmare hurt, plain and simple. She could have at least woke me up!

"No, Bella, that is not what I meant," Alice seemed clearly agitated, as she ran her hand through her still perfect hair. _'How come her hair still looks as if she had just finished getting her hair done?'_ my mind wondered dazed. I shook my head again. What was it with all these random thoughts?

"What did you mean, then, Alice?" I asked curiously.

"Well, uh, Bella, ah, you were kind of, umm, trashing in bed?" Alice stuttered.

Alice stuttered? _'What in the world is going on?'_ my mind started to become impatient.

"Oh, did I hurt you?" it suddenly occurred to me that I might have punched or kicked her during my dream.

"What?" Alice looked at me confused. "No! No, you did not hurt me, Bella," Alice tried to reassure me.

"Then why were you out of the bed? And why were you breathing so hard anyway?" I asked frustrated.

"Bella, let us just drop this and go back to bed, alright?" Alice's tone became pleading. Alice pleading with me, actually alarmed me further, what had I done?

"If I did not hurt you, what could I have done that made you leave the bed, Alice?" I looked at her bewildered. "Please, just tell me! I won't be able to go back to sleep if you don't tell me!" I kept pleading with her.

"Really?" Alice sounded both surprised and curious at the same time.

"Well, yes, of course," I replied astonished.

"Ok, I guess, well, you kind of clawed at me," Alice finally said, looking away from me.

"Clawed at you? So, I did hurt you?" I was even more confused now.

"No, Bella, it did not hurt," Alice sounded almost exasperated and was still not looking at me.

'_It did not hurt when I clawed at her? Then, what? Oh, God! Please, tell me I didn't embarrass myself by practically throwing myself at Alice in my sleep?'_ my mind squeaked, while I turned a deep shade of crimson.

"Alice, how exactly did I claw at you?" I asked in a whisper, looking down at my hands, unsure if I really wanted an answer to this question.

* * *

APOV

'_Bella, please! Just let it go!'_ my mind begged desperately. In fact, I could not even look at her. I mean, I thought I was bad with my inability to let things go, but here was Bella, beating me at my very own game. On the other side, I was just plain stupid. Seriously, all I had to do was say that I stumbled upon her having a nightmare when I came back from the bathroom. Yet, since I neither needed those 'human moments,' nor remembered ever needing them from my time as a human, I had thought of that excuse excessively late. Bella could turn me into such a bumbling idiot! I mean, I stuttered! She had me that flabbergasted that I had started to stutter, for crying out loud! _'My siblings can never know this,'_ my mind sighed. They would tease me forever, and when I say forever, I was actually not exaggerating.

Back to my dilemma. I knew that Bella was attracted to me, and while I did not know to what part of me she was actually attracted to, I knew additionally that she was not aware of this attraction herself. _'So, how to best answer her question?' _my mind pondered. Again, I received no help from my visions. What good was this gift when it never worked in crucial moments?

"You just clawed at me, I mean, you mainly went for my stomach, and besides, you were not aware of what you were doing, Bella. You just startled me and, well, I was asleep before, so I just jumped out of the bed." Was this as lame as it sounded? And for the record, my speech was usually much more eloquent than this mumbled mess I gave away.

Bella was still staring at her hands; her face was flushed in embarrassment, directing my attention back to the knife in my throat.

"Bella, it is all right. You do not have to be embarrassed about this," I tried once more to reassure her. "Do you remember your dream?" I looked at her, fighting the urge to lift her chin with my finger.

Bella sighed, wringing her hands that held onto her blanket, and finally, looked up at me.

"Yes, I do remember my dream. It was so weird. First, I was at the beach with some of our schoolmates and I was so cold, even though I was sitting in front of a bonfire. Then, there was this person standing at the water's edge, just staring at the ocean. I don't know who that was." Bella started, sounding frustrated.

"That does not sound that weird," I spoke softly. "Was there more?"

"Well, yes. The scene suddenly changed, and, well, this is just too embarrassing, Alice."

"Embarrassing? How? You can tell me, Bella. I will not laugh, I promise." Now I was curious, was this the part where she started to say my name?

Bella looked at me with wide eyes,

"I know, Alice. It's just, that dream is so silly." Bella quickly looked away again. I just continued to sit there silently, waiting for her to continue at her own pace.

"I dreamed about the movie," Bella whispered all of a sudden.

"The movie, you mean _Crepuscule_? What did you dream about?" I asked curiously. "Were you chased by vampires?" I tried to make light of the situation. Bella gave me an incredulous look.

"No, I was one, I mean, I was a vampire, or better, I was William, yet I was also myself. It was really weird." Bella covered her eyes with one hand.

'_Come again?'_ my mind spluttered.

"Huh? You were a vampire?" I blanched. _'What in the world?' _my mind was still reeling.

"Yes, I was a vampire, or William, whatever. Remember the scene where Nava tells William that she knows what he is? That's what I dreamed, only I was William," Bella sounded frustrated.

"Ok, Bella, you're right, that sounds like a weird dream," I did not really know what else I could say in that moment. I mean, please, she dreamed of being a vampire! '_Hello, maybe this would be the perfect moment to tell her?_' my mind interjected. _'I cannot, she will not want to be around me anymore once she knows,' _the insecure part of me answered timidly. I had wanted her to see this vampire movie to gauge her attitude towards vampires, even if she only considered them fairytales. Yet, I never saw this can of worms heading in my direction. Even though I was gifted with precognition, I did not foresee how much more complicated this movie would make our whole situation.

* * *

BPOV

'_God, this is so embarrassing'_, my mind whined. _'Imagine how it'd be if you told her that she stared in your dream as Nava?'_ my mind sneered at itself. This is exactly why I should not be allowed to think when I was this sleepy. But, did anybody ever listen to me? No, of course not. And her I was, arguing with my own mind! My ability to utterly annoy myself was just astonishing.

"Well, I said it was a weird dream, Alice" I replied a little defensively.

"This dream does not explain your nightmare, though," Alice continued contemplatively.

"No, it doesn't," why did I feel bad for withholding parts of my dream from her? It'd be so much worse if she knew.

"Do you remember anything that happened afterward?" Alice continued curiously. She was acting as if she was trying to solve a mystery.

"No, I don't," I lied, hesitantly. She would likely see right through me, though. I had always been a horrible liar.

"Well, I guess we will never know then what caused your nightmare. Do you feel better now?" Alice sounded a little worried, which made me feel even worse for not telling her the rest of my dream. But seriously, how could I tell her? Like, 'oh, and by the way, I was William and you were Nava?' All the while, she was sleeping right next to me AND I had started clawing at her once I had a nightmare? Can you say stalker? Then again, can you stalk someone in a dream?

"Yes, I am fine; do not worry about this, ok?" I tried again to convince Alice, whereupon she just waved me off smiling. I turned around to look at the clock, 3:10 am, '_at least I'll still get some more sleep!_' my mind sighed happily.

"I think we should try to go back to sleep," I suggested, trying to get out of the conversation.

"If you are sure that you are fine, "Alice still looked at me apprehensively.

"Yes, Alice, I am fine. Don't worry, I doubt I'll have two nightmares in one night, so you should be safe from any further attacks where I start clawing at you," I answered, trying to sound more cheerful than I felt.

"Right," Alice whispered, while lying back down again. I turned off the lights and prayed that my prediction would prove to be correct.

* * *

APOV

Bella was lying to me. She really was a very bad liar, and come to think about it, I did not think I had ever met anyone who was a worse liar. Bella remembered more from her dream, but she did not want to tell me. I wondered what she had dreamed about that she could not share with me, and how all that related to me. Obviously, I had appeared in her dream, why else would she have called out my name and practically clawed at me? Even though, I desperately wanted to know what she refused to tell me, I would respect her privacy, while at the same time hoping she would eventually change her mind. I wondered how long she would sleep. I kept lying next to her, just staring at her. Yes, my throat was still burning, but overall, this sleepover business was appealing, despite all the nightmare and clawing incidents. Just to be this close to Bella filled me with joy, so much so that this joy all but drowned out the pain in my throat. I could hardly believe how far I had come in such a short time. In fact, I really appeared to be able to resist and block out the lure of Bella's blood. _'Yay, Alice!'_ my mind cheered, and I had to chuckle. Maybe I was right; being around her often helped me in resisting her blood. It also did not seem as if Bella minded spending plenty of time together. So, that was the plan then, spending a lot of time with Bella so that I would not be tempted to rip her throat out. _'Not funny!' _my mind grumbled. _'A little bit,' _I replied, still gazing at Bella's beautiful, slumbering features.

* * *

**I am not too sure about this chapter and obviously, I couldn't even decide on how to name it. Anyway, I hope you like it and that the progression is not too slow. It will speed up some in the next few chapters.**

**Thanks for reading and I appreciate all questions, comments, concerns, reviews and suggestions.**

**One last thing, please let me know if you feel that I am not being true to the characters, that is always a big fear of mine. Thanks!**


	6. Jade?

**Disclaimer: I still own only plot changes, the rest belongs to SM.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews and alerts for this story. I appreciate you taking the time to read this story. And in fact, **_Blackcatwitchgirl_, **your review made my day, thank you!**

**This chapter contains a little surprise for you. Let me know if you like it.**

**Oh, and I will be out of state from this Saturday until 9-12, so I don't know if I will be able to update within that time frame. I will try my best, though.**

* * *

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 6**

**Jade?**

BPOV

The next morning arrived and it appeared that I slept nightmare free. Actually, I couldn't remember dreaming at all for the rest of the night. I opened my eyes to a slumbering Alice. _'What a view!'_ my mind sighed immediately. Alice was so beautiful. In fact, the word beautiful seemed lacking, when applied to Alice. A sleeping Alice looked even more fragile, if that was possible. _'I never noticed how long Alice's eyelashes are,'_ my mind exclaimed fascinated. After gazing at her eyes, I slowly took in the rest of her porcelain features. Her delicate nose, the perfectly sculptured cheekbones and finally, my eyes fell upon her curved, crimson lips. My eyes were still occupied with Alice's lips when I heard a whispered,

"Good morning," coming from Alice. I closed my eyes and felt my cheeks start to burn. Hopefully, Alice had just opened her eyes and hadn't caught me staring at her lips.

"Good morning," I replied softly.

"Did you sleep well?" Alice smiled at me.

"Yes," I whispered, still feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Did you sleep ok, too?" I looked up at her smiling face once more.

"Yes," Alice continued to look and smile at me. This slowly started to unnerve me a little.

"Well, uh, you wanna get some breakfast? I looked at Alice inquiringly.

"You can eat, I never have breakfast," Alice started all the while she gracefully slipped out of the bed. "This time, I will be rude and claim the bathroom first," she smiled at me and then dashed to the bathroom.

"No wonder she is so thin," I mumbled into the now empty room, while scratching my head. The same moment my stomach growled, announcing its neglect. _'I don't get it, how can you never have breakfast? I'd starve!"_ my mind muttered and I nodded in agreement.

After I had calmed the beast, aka, my stomach, we started to work on our history project. We actually ended up discussing the role of Robespierre, on whether he was one of the heroes of the French Revolution, or more one of its many villains. I, for my part, viewed him as more of a villain, Alice, did not agree with me on this topic, though.

"If he really was such a villain, why was he executed, then?" Alice looked at me in frustration.

"Well, Alice, the death penalty usually does not fall on heroes. Besides, he was responsible for hundreds of people being beheaded during the French Revolution. They did not name the period in which he was at the height of his power the 'Reign of Terror' for nothing," I countered and shrugged my shoulders.

"That is right, in the end, the Revolution ate its own children and Robespierre was merely a visionary who fell prey to that All-You-Can-Eat phase of the Revolution. Moreover, it was not him personally who decided to chop off the heads of all of those people, anyway. Remember, they wanted to get away from the notion of a singular ruler. Therefore, you cannot just blame Robespierre for all those deaths." Alice wildly gesticulated with her hands in front of me, trying to convince me of her points. _'God, she's adorable,_' my mind noticed once more. I chose to ignore these comments from this peanut gallery. Wait, did I just insult myself? Huh.

"All right, Alice. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this point here. In the end, though, we have to cover the whole French Revolution in our project, not just Robespierre. So, maybe we should focus on more widespread occurrences?" I suggested, wanting to get at least some work done today.

"Ok, if you want," Alice pouted, and my mind sighed delightedly, but thankfully spared me further commentary.

Alice left in the late afternoon, she still hadn't eaten anything. This was starting to both worry and confuse me. Alice was not the type to have an eating disorder, not that there was a type or anything. She just appeared to be so confident and strong. An eating disorder just didn't fit into the picture. Then, why else would she not eat? I decided to keep an eye on this eating business thingy.

* * *

APOV

I could not believe how long I had stayed in Bella's presence. I should have eaten something, for crying out loud. That was not the smartest of actions. It was almost as if I subconsciously tried to give her enough clues to become suspicious and finally confront me. Yes, I wanted to tell her so badly what we are, but I was also scared out of my mind of just doing that. Moreover, humans are not supposed to know our secret. I was putting her life in danger by telling that we were all vampires. Was I that selfish? I sighed and entered our house, heading straight for my room. Too bad, I had been so preoccupied with my own musings that I did not see Rose's plan to confront me regarding Bella, before it was too late. She was suddenly next to me and hissed aggravated,

"Is the human still alive or do we need to pack and leave?"

I growled and glared back at her,

"Why would you even ask that?" I hissed annoyed.

"Well, you were the one who had to leave school the first time you were in proximity to her," Rose just shrugged, still wearing a scowl on her face.

"I can control myself and you should not doubt me. Bella is fine," I pressed out irritated beyond belief.

"For now," Rose replied, unimpressed by my ire.

"Nothing will happen to Bella," I insisted, putting my hands on my hips in the process. Rose really could aggravate the mess out of anyone.

"Nothing will happen if you leave her alone, you forgot to add," Rose just could not let it go.

I started growling again and just glared at her outraged.

"Rose, that is enough," Esme suddenly stood next to us. I had not even noticed her approach.

"Why don't you say that to Alice and her ridiculous friendship with that human Edward can't read?" Rosalie addressed Esme adamantly.

"We trust Alice, Rosalie, and if she says that she can handle a friendship with Bella, then that's how it is," Esme stood her ground.

"That human could expose us! I am sure, once she finds out what we are and freaks out, she'll run to everyone to tell them all about us. Or even worse, what if Alice is wrong and she cannot restrain herself?" Rose continued agitated.

"That human has a name! Bella! You had better remember that, Rose! And as for your concerns, Bella would not expose us and she will not freak out once she finds out about us. I would see that, now would I not?" I again put my hands on my hips. Rose could make me so furious, I did not even realize what I had let slip in my anger.

"So, you are planning on telling her what we are? Are you insane? What do you want from her anyway?" now Rosalie was even more upset. Meanwhile, I was neither sure regarding what I wanted from Bella, nor about the fact that I would see it if she were about to expose us. My visions remained somewhat unreliable concerning everything that related to Bella and her future.

"I do not know, Rose, I just want to get to know her and I enjoy spending time with her. As for telling her our secret, yes, I want to tell her someday," I sighed resigned, tired of this conflict, all the while bracing myself for Rose's next tantrum.

Yet, Rose just stared at me as if she had never seen me before. Finally, she just raised her hands, waved me off and said,

"Whatever," then she turned around and left the house. That was somewhat unexpected. I was still staring after her retreating form when Esme addressed me.

"Alice, are you sure it is wise to tell Bella about us?" she looked at me with a concerned expression. I was about to answer when she raised her hands to stop me and continued,

"I am not worried about her exposing us, honey, I am just afraid that your relationship might suffer once she knows, or worse, that she might no longer want to be your friend. I don't want to see you getting hurt, Alice."

At those words, I hung my head.

"I know, Esme. I am afraid of that, too. But I also feel bad for lying to her, and I think she is already somewhat suspicious. I just feel so drawn to her, Esme. Like a moth to a flame, yet this moth is strong enough to extinguish the fire. Still, I am too selfish to stay away from her." I shook my head, still staring at the floor.

"Then don't honey. I am sure all of this will work out in the end," Esme tried to reassure me and went on to pull me into a hug. Once I was in her arms, I returned her hug, surprised with how much I needed both the hug and her supportive words.

* * *

BPOV

Alice and I continued to spend most of our free time together. Once she even dragged me to the mall, that Pixie is a lunatic when it comes to shopping and clothes. I told her I would be incapable to accompany her again, until the next leap year came around. She didn't find that very amusing. We also managed almost to complete our history project, even though we still could not agree on Robespierre.

Two weeks after _Crepuscule_ and my weird nightmare, Forks experienced something unbelievable, a day of clear blue skies, plenty of sunshine and temperatures climbing into uncharted territory on the thermostat. It was mind-boggling to me, that people in Forks acted at 80 degrees as folks did in Phoenix when the temperatures ventured into the three digit area.

At school, our lunch table, which usually included Alice, but today all of the Cullen's had left for a hiking trip, discussed another trip to the beach.

"Bella, you really gotta come this time," Mike all but whined and looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah," Eric chimed in, followed by the traitor Angela, who agreed with them both.

'_Oh, whatever, it's not like I have anything else to do, with Alice disappearing into the great outdoors,'_ my mind sighed.

"Sure, what time are we leaving?" I nodded in Mike's general direction.

"Sweet," Mike sounded a little too excited. "We will leave tonight, at around 5 o'clock? We'll probably have a bonfire, too" Mike finished, still wearing a huge smile on his face.

"We can carpool, if you want to, that is," Angela looked in my direction.

"Sure," I agreed quickly, hoping that this carpool only included Angela and me.

"Great. Shall I pick you up shortly before 5?"

"Sure, that'll work" I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I hoped that this trip would turn out to be above my expectations. This was usually the case, if I dreaded something; it turned out to be all right. Let's hope this trip would adhere to this tradition. On a whim, I decided to text Alice and tell her about my plans.

**Will go to the beach tonight with lunch table crowd.**

**La Push?** Alice answered immediately. _'Funny hiking trip,'_ I wondered, _'maybe they are taking a break'_ my mind suggested right away.

**Yes. Why? How is the hiking going?** I wrote back.

**Just curious. Hiking is a pain. Wish I'd were in school instead.** I smiled at that answer.

**Me too. You could've even come with us to the beach,** I wrote back and suddenly, I was even less in the mood for the beach trip than before.

**Yes, that would have been fun. Maybe next time.** Alice wrote back, adding a smiling face after her words.

**When will you be back?** I really missed Alice.

**Tomorrow evening, or Sunday morning. Not sure yet.** I read her answer disappointed.

**You could drop by my place on Sunday, if you're not too exhausted,** I suggested hopefully.

**Yes, that'd be great. Have to go, bye, be safe, Bella!** Alice wrote back, which improved my mood considerably.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, as was usually the case whenever there was an event looming that you were dreading. Suddenly, it was almost five and I waited for Angela to stop by and pick me up. God, I really hoped that the trip to the beach wouldn't turn out to be a complete disaster. I grabbed my bag, almost forgot to bring my cell phone, and headed for the door as soon as I heard Angela's car honk. _'Here we go,' _my mind sighed.

* * *

All of my schoolmates acted as if they'd never been on a beach, or for that matter, as if they had never experienced a sunny day before. How can you have so much energy on a Friday afternoon, anyway? I was watching them play football, while wondering when we would head back home. Angela eventually sat down next to me.

"You having fun?" she looked at me curiously.

"Yeah, plenty," I started laughing.

"Yes, I can see that," Angela joined in my laughter. "Well, it is time for the bonfire anyway," Angela continued, while at the same time, the rest of the guys came back to start the fire. I was enjoying the cracking heat of the fire when all of a sudden my cell phone buzzed. I looked down and smiled, Alice.

**How is the beach?** She wrote.

**A blast. Actually, I wish I was home**, I typed quickly.

**Sorry. I'm not having too much fun either**, came the quick reply.

**What's up?** I asked curiously.

**Rose and I got into a fight. Again**, Alice wrote back.

**Sorry. We can talk about it on Sunday, if you want?** I wrote back worriedly.

**We'll see. I have to go again. Sorry. Hope you'll have more fun the rest of the evening, bye. **

**Thanks, you too. Bye**, I sighed, putting away my cell phone.

"Aren't those guys from the Quileute Reservation?" Eric spoke up suddenly, pointing towards a group of kids walking towards us. All of them were tall and had long dark hair. Once they reached us, one of their faces seemed familiar. I searched my brain for a moment and then I remembered, could this really be?

"Jade? Is that you?" I addressed one of the two girls of the group. She looked in my direction, immediate recognition in her eyes.

"Bella! Hey!" she came over an enveloped me in a hug. "Billy said you've moved back here. How are you?" she asked cheerfully.

I returned the hug, amazed that she had become so tall. She was at least a good head taller than I was.

"I'm fine. You've gotten so tall!" my brain/mouth filter was still a work in progress.

"Yeah, got tall parents, remember?" Jade kept smiling at me.

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is my childhood friend Jade Black, Jade, these are my friends from school, Mike, Eric, Jessica, Tyler, Ben and Angela," I introduced them in the order in which they were all sitting around the bonfire.

"Hey," they all said at the same moment. Jade nodded and smiled in their direction.

"You wanna go for a walk, Bella? I haven't seen you in ages." Jade looked at me hopefully.

"Sure, you guys don't mind, right?" I asked into the round around the bonfire.

"No, of course not. Have fun," Angela smiled in my direction.

I waved at them and walked away with Jade.

"So, what have you been up to?" I turned to look at Jade.

"Nothing much. Still working on the Rabbit, otherwise, school. You? How's school with the pale faces? Made any friends yet?"

"Rabbit?" I looked confused.

"Oh, my car," Jade kept smiling.

"Right, well, school is alright, I guess. As for friends, I like Angela, the rest here are more schoolmates than friends. Well, then there is Alice…" I trailed off, wondering what she was doing right now.

"Alice? Is she here, too?" Jade looked at me curiously.

"No, her family went hiking yesterday and they won't be back until late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning," I know, I must have sounded pathetic, like a child who no longer has access to her favorite toy. Jade looked at me for a moment and then just busted out laughing.

"I take it you'd prefer Alice was here too, huh? Come on Bells, I am not such bad company, right?" Jade put her hands in the pockets of her pants, while we kept walking along the water's edge.

"No, gosh, I'm sorry, Jade. That was so rude. You know I always liked you. Alice is just, she is different and we spent a lot of time together since I got here, so, it is almost a little weird not seeing her for pretty much the entire weekend." I tried to explain.

"Hmm, what is her last name, again?" Jade looked out at the ocean.

"I don't think I've mentioned that before. Her last name is Cullen. Alice is one of the adopted children of Dr. Cullen and his wife. I think they also all just recently moved to Forks." I kept looking at Jade. _'That was a weird question,'_ my mind suggested.

"Cullen, huh? Well, don't tell my dad that your best friend is a Cullen," Jade snickered a little at that.

"Huh? Billy? Why would he care?" I asked confused.

"You know dad, all into the old tribe legends and stuff. Crazy, if you ask me," Jade shrugged her shoulders and smiled at me again. The same moment, the wind picked up and blew Jade's black hair away from her face. When looking closer at her face, I suddenly noticed that Jade was pretty much the polar opposite of Alice. Jade was tall and muscular, like an athlete, whereas my little pixie friend embodied all traits her name suggested. Yet, even though Alice was small and looked incredibly fragile, I also noticed that she had a very lean build and was stronger than she looked. This made Alice's strength veiled, whereas Jade's strength is noticeable with just a glance. Whereas Jade's skin spotted a permanent tan, Alice was as pale as the moon. Jade's eyes were dark brown, whereas Alice's eyes were a liquid gold. While Alice's features were delicate and elfin like, Jade's features were made up of straight lines and angles. Also, even their posture and demeanor were opposite, Jade appeared a little awkward with her size, whereas Alice gilded through her ways like a ballet dancer. _'Interesting choice of friends'_ my mind quipped smartly. "Indeed," I muttered, which earned me a confused eyebrow raise by Jade.

* * *

**As you see, my surprise is that I turned Jacob into a girl. My sister-in-law, an avid Twilight fan, bless her heart, suggested that Twilight would not be as successful without the love triangle between Bella-Edward and Jacob. After giving this some thought, I had to agree with her. In order to make this work for my story though, I changed Jacob to Jade. I will try to give her Jacob's character, obviously, since I am not the greatest fan of OC within the realm of fan fiction. Overall, I have a question though, would you want Edward and Jasper also to find mates? I would use someone out of the books, obviously. I just feel a little bad for leaving them single. If I do this, they will still never become a main plot in the story, obviously, so do not worry about that. **

**As always, questions, comments, concerns and critics are very welcome and appreciated. It actually fuels my desire to write, so, send me a quick note, ok? Thanks for reading!**


	7. Discussing Werewolves?

**Still own nothing, but plot changes?**

**I am so sorry for updating just now. My trip out of state and university got in the way. In addition, I have to admit, I was also a little too entranced by Mafia Wars. I will try not to let you wait so long between updates. I hope you like it.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews, story, author and favorite alerts. Sorry, also for taking so long to answer to your reviews. **

**

* * *

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**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 7**

**Discussing Werewolves?**

BPOV

"You are an odd one, Bella Swan," Jade chuckled.

"And that is new, because?" I laughed.

"No, not new, just more proof added on to my collection," Jade replied, trying to put on a serious face and failing miserably.

"Naturally," I said and lightly punched her arm.

"So, Bella, we should hang out sometime," Jade looked out at the ocean again.

"Yes, we should definitely do that," I replied, nodding. I liked the idea of reconnecting with Jade.

"Sweet," Jade turned to smile at me again and I had to laugh at her enthusiasm.

"What do you wanna do? We could just hang out or we could go see a movie? We could even do something this weekend, if you want?" suddenly, Jade sounded a little shy.

"I don't know, I don't think there's a movie out right now that I'm interested in and this weekend is bad anyway, I already got plans."

"What'cha doin'? Jade looked at me curiously.

"Uh, well, I will meet with Alice?" I couldn't believe how silly that just sounded.

"But didn't you say she won't be back till Sunday morning?" Jade looked at me confused.

"Well, yes. I mean, I don't know yet, she could be back on Saturday evening, too." God, I sounded so pathetic! I had to roll my eyes at myself.

"In that case, why don't we just hang out tomorrow? If you don't like any current movies, we could maybe rent one?" Jade looked at me expectantly.

"Yeah, I guess," I smiled a small smile at Jade.

"Gosh, Bella, don't sound too enthusiastic! You gonna sprain something if you don't tone down your excitement," Jade sighed a little sarcastically.

"Sorry, Jade. I'm not usually this rude. Like I said, I like the idea of spending time with you. Let's do that, you can come by tomorrow and bring a movie you want to watch. Just no vampires, ok?" I said quickly.

"No vampires, huh? You don't like 'em? Jade gave me a little shove.

I started laughing, "I'm not sure anymore," I said contemplatively.

"Oh Bella, you truly are an odd one. I'll come by your place tomorrow, around 3? That ok? And don't worry, I got it, no vampires," Jade chuckled again.

"That's fine, yeah, sure," I smiled again, thinking that this trip had at least one positive outcome.

* * *

APOV

Bella was in werewolf territory. Even if I had a vision about something happening to Bella, the treaty would forbid me to enter their land. _'Stupid mutts!'_ my mind sighed. To say that I was frustrated was an understatement of humongous proportions. I was driving my whole family insane with my constant pacing and mutterings. Also, I had to restrain myself from constantly checking on Bella by calling or texting her. I mean, just because she is at the La Push beach, that does not mean she will run into any wolves, right? _'Damned sun,'_ without this sunshine business I could have gone to school and Bella and we would have spent the weekend together. Then, there'd be no need to go to the beach playing with those mutts.

"Ali-cat, calm down! You're driving us nuts," Emmett interrupted my pacing, his hands on his hips and his face scrunched up in a frown.

"I am sorry, Emmett, I just worry about Bella being on Quileute land. All those young werewolves running around." I stopped pacing all together and gave a helpless shrug in Emmett's direction.

"I know, but I'm sure Bella will be fine. Besides, you've got your visions and your cell phone. You got it covered," Emmett touched my shoulder reassuringly.

"Yes, you're right. I will text her again. It's been a while since I last wrote to her," and off I was, up to my room so I could talk to Bella in peace and quiet. When I got back upstairs, I noticed that I had actually missed a text by Bella.

**On my way back home. Have a 'date' for Saturday with an old friend. You still fighting with Rose?**

Date? Old friend? What in the world? Bella had sent this text an hour ago. _'How did I miss this?'_ my mind wondered confused. Had I been that distracted by my worries and horror scenarios that I ended up missing this text? I wondered if Bella was still awake. Only one way to find out.

**Are you still awake?** I typed quickly, hoping that Bella had not gone to bed yet. I checked the clock, it was 11pm, _'she might still be awake,'_ my mind voiced hopefully.

**About time you got back to me. I thought you fell off a mountain or something**, Bella replied right away.

Got back to her? Was she drunk? I dialed her number, Bella answered after the first ring.

"Hello," she sounded tired.

"Hello Bella. Sorry, I missed your text earlier," I answered, relieved to hear her voice.

"It's alright, I mean, you're on a hiking trip, it's not like you're sitting on your phone," Bella laughed a little.

"Oh, and for your question, I did not fall off a mountain. I am a little more graceful than that, thank you very much," I replied smiling.

"As opposed to me, you mean?" Bella was laughing again.

"I would never insinuate such an idea, Bella,"

"Yeah, right," Bella still chuckled.

"So, Bella, you have a date tomorrow?" I asked carefully.

"You did notice that I put date in parentheses, right?" Bella asked confused.

"Uh, maybe," I admitted a little embarrassed.

"Well, I met Jade Black, an old childhood friend of mine at the beach. She asked if we could hang out this weekend and since I had no real plans for tomorrow and because I like the idea of spending time with Jade, I agreed to hang out tomorrow," Bella explained straightforward.

'_No real plans?'_ my mind huffed indignantly. I did say that I might return Saturday evening. Who was this Jade Black anyway?

"I see," was all I could really say.

"Alice? Are you ok?" Bella sounded a little concerned.

"Yes, of course. Sorry, I am just being silly. Forget about it." I waved off no one in particular.

"You know, whenever people say 'just forget about it,' that is usually the last thing you can do. Just spill it, Pixie! Or do I have to threaten you with bodily harm? What's up?" Bella continued.

'_Bodily harm? You and what army?'_ my mind snorted.

"Well, I guess I felt a little hurt that you consider me coming home Saturday evening as no real plans. But like I said, I am just being silly," I sighed.

"Yes, you are, Pixie! You said you weren't sure if you'd be back Saturday or Sunday and we are supposed to meet on Sunday, right? Jade will be here at 3 on Saturday and we plan to watch a movie, so, I still might be free for the evening." Bella went on.

"I know, it's fine, really," I tried to reassure her.

"Still, I'm sorry you felt hurt. I didn't mean to make you feel bad," Bella sounded really contrite, which made me want to smack myself, repeatedly, for being so silly.

"Bella, please, don't worry about this, it is fine, really. Besides, we will see each other definitely on Sunday, right?" I tried to distract her.

"Yeah, oh, and of course, if you come back Saturday and it's not too late, you can stop by at my place. That way, you can even meet Jade!" Bella suddenly sounded excited.

"Yes, that would be nice. I'd like to meet your childhood friend. She may have some embarrassing "Bella, the clumsy child" stories to tell," I just could not resist.

"Clumsy child? What makes you think I was a clumsy child?" Bella complained.

"Oh, so you are saying that your clumsiness is a more recently acquired trait?" I asked innocently.

"Whatever, Pixie, not everyone can be grace personified," Bella grumbled.

"You think I'm graceful?" I asked delighted.

"Uh, well, of course?" Bella sighed exasperate.

"Thank you, Bella," I said sincerely. Of course, I know that I am graceful, comes with being a vampire. Who knows, maybe I was clumsier than Bella as a human? _'Nah'_ my mind started to giggle. The fact that Bella thought I was graceful though, meant more to me than someone else thinking so.

"You're welcome, even though I am sure that I'm not telling you anything new," I could hear Bella smile over the phone.

"I'll let you go to sleep now, don't want you to be too tired for your 'date' tomorrow," I know, I sounded a little cynical here.

"I told you it is not a real date, Alice! It is just Jade. Besides, I don't date girls, I think," Bella drifted off at the end. _'Huh, she doesn't think she dates girls?'_ That was a little weird, yet encouraging. It meant that Bella had at least once considered dating a girl.

"Ok, then. Good night. Sweet dream," I hung up the phone sighing. Should I stop by tomorrow to meet this infamous Jade? The weather did not seem to be an issue, no sparkle potential in sight. Besides, I could go late, that way I would not intrude and maybe Bella would ask me to stay overnight. This idea became more and more appealing the longer I thought about it.

* * *

BPOV

Even though, I was anticipating Jade's visit, I could not stop myself from hoping that I would also get to see Alice later that day. I wondered, if Alice indeed stopped by, how she and Jade would get along. I could only hope for the best, but gosh, it would suck if my two best friends didn't get along, or imagine, if they'd hate each other. Awkward!

Since I was not in the mood to cook, I decided that we could always order pizza.

Eventually, 3 o'clock came and went, and I started to get a little confused. Jade did say she would stop by at 3pm, right? I was about to look up Billy's number, when the doorbell rang.

"Sorry, Bella," Jade sounded breathless once I opened the door. "I had trouble picking out the right movie," Jade continued, smiling as she held up a DVD for me to inspect.

"_Blood & Chocolate_? Jade? I told you I don't want to see any vampire movies," I exclaimed a little exasperated.

"I know, this one isn't about vampires, don't worry," she walked in while winking at me conspiratorially. Too bad I wasn't in on that particular conspiracy.

"If you say so," I still sounded skeptical as I followed Jade into the living room. "Are you hungry? We could order some pizza, if you want?" I suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Jade kept smiling at me. "You wanna wait till the pizza gets here before we start the movie?" Jade continued.

"Yes, that's a good idea," I replied and went to order the pizzas.

After ordering the pizzas I joined Jade on the couch, she had already put the DVD in the DVD player.

"So, what's the movie about? Blood and Chocolate is not really a very common combination, huh?" I looked at Jade expectantly, who right away started to laugh, her long ebony hair falling over her shoulders, covering her face.

"No, I guess it's not," Jade started, "You remember yesterday, when we were talking about Quileute legends and how Billy believes all of them? Well, I thought I show you a more entertaining version of it, so, that's where _Blood & Chocolate_ fits in." Jade kept grinning at me.

"That still doesn't tell me what the movie is about?" I looked at Jade curiously.

"No, I guess it doesn't," Jade replied a little smugly.

"Jade!" I exclaimed, getting a little impatient, while slapping her shoulders, which only seemed to heighten Jade's amusement. Since Jade kept chuckling, I hit her once more.

"Ok, ok, it's about werewolves. I first wanted to show you _Underworld_, but that movie also has vampires in it, and you said you didn't wanna see a vampire movie. You know, on that note, vampires and werewolves are enemies, so in a way, if you don't like vampires, you might enjoy movies where they are being slaughtered," Jade finished, putting her hands on her thighs.

I froze, slaughtered? My mind flashed to the nice vampires in _Crepuscule_ and naturally, my mind, the traitor, once more flooded me with images from my _Crepuscule_ dream, too. No, I would not enjoy watching vampires being slaughtered.

"No, Jade, I just don't feel like watching a vampire movie right now. That doesn't mean I want to see them slaughtered," I shivered at the mere thought. This is all so confusing. I never really liked vampires, but the thought of them being slaughtered disturbed me greatly.

"Oh, ok, I just thought you didn't like them," Jade looked at me contemplatively.

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang and the pizza had arrived. After getting our food, we sat down to watch the movie. Before Jade could press play though, I remembered I hadn't told her that Alice might be stopping by later.

"Oh, Jade, before I forget, Alice may stop by later tonight. I'd really like for you guys to meet each other. That is all right? I mean, I'm sorry for dropping this on you so last minute and if you don't want to meet her I'll text her and…" I rambled on, before Jade interrupted me.

"Bells, it's fine, don't worry. Besides, I'm curious to meet the infamous Alice Cullen," Jade reassured me smiling.

"Good, I mean, you two are in a way my best friends here and I really want you to get along," I sighed, still a little worried.

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Anyway, let's start the movie, ok?" Jade went ahead and pressed play, leaning back against the couch, ready to watch the movie, while still chewing on a slice of pizza.

"Wow. That was interesting, and also kinda freaky. To think they wanted Vivian to be intimate with Gabriel, who had been with Vivian's aunt earlier," I shuddered visibly. "I'd not want that either," I was still shaking my head while the credits of Blood & Chocolate continued to roll over the TV screen.

"Yeah, that was really weird. But I liked how Vivian stood up for her mate," Jade uttered contemplatively.

"Mate, Jade? Isn't that a little old-fashioned, not to say, animalistic?" I asked amused.

"Well, I mean, she is a werewolf, so her partner would be her mate, right?" Jade looked curiously at me.

"I guess," I shrugged my shoulders.

"So, what do you think about werewolves, anyway?" Jade looked at me anxiously. Just as I was about to open my mouth, the doorbell rang. _'Alice!'_ my mind cheered excitedly, while I jumped up from my seat to rush to the door.

"Sorry Jade, I'll just get this, ok? It might be Alice," I called back in Jade's direction, while Jade just started to laugh.

Indeed, once I opened the door I was greeted by a smiling Alice.

"Hello Bella," she went on to give me a hug. _'Gosh, I forgot how amazing she smells,'_ my mind sighed immediately, once my face came close to Alice's neck.

"Hey, Alice! I am glad you made it! Come in, Jade is still here, we were just discussing werewolves," I exclaimed happily, while grabbing Alice's hand and dragging her into the living room.

* * *

APOV

I was so excited to finally see Bella again, I somewhat forgot that Jade was likely going to still be there. Bella smiled at me once she opened the door and she immediately returned my hug. _'Gosh, my memory really does not do her amazing scent any justice.'_ my mind whined and sighed happily at the same time.

Suddenly Bella went on one of her ramblings, "Hey, Alice! I am glad you made it! Come in, Jade is still here, we were just discussing werewolves," all the while starting to drag me into the house.

'_Wait, what? Discussing werewolves? What in the world was Jade thinking?'_ my mind wondered while I let Bella drag me into the living room. Jade got up once we entered and greeted me with a smile. _'Strange, she does not even smell like a wet dog. And why is she smiling at me again?'_ my mind was thoroughly confused by now.

"Hey, Alice. It's nice to meet you. Bella here can't stop talking about you," Jade said still grinning. _'This could hardly get any weirder'_ my mind was still trying to catch up.

"Hello, Jade. It is nice to meet you too," I replied cautiously, just standing there in the living room.

"Why are you just standing here, sit down," Bella laughed, dragging me down next to her on the couch.

'_This is so awkward!'_ my mind sighed when Bella turned to address Jade,

"I believe we were discussing werewolves, right, Jade?"

"Uh, yeah," Jade answered slowly, glancing at me quickly. _'So, I guess she knows something'_ my mind supplied carefully.

"What about werewolves?" I sighed noncommittally.

"Well, Jade made us watch Blood & Chocolate. Have you ever seen that movie, Alice?" Bella turned to me.

"No, I have not," I kept looking back and forth between Bella and Jade.

"Well, it's a love story between a werewolf and a human," Bella started.

'_Huh?'_ my mind asked surprised, all the while, I raised an eyebrow in Jade's direction, who at least had the good grace to look away uncomfortably.

"It was a pretty good movie, actually. Oh, and Jade, to answer your question from earlier, I think werewolves are kind of cool, at least the good ones. The son of the Alpha, his friends and the Alpha himself were horrible, though," Bella looked at Jade contemplatively.

"What do you think of werewolves, Jade?" Bella addressed Jade once more with a concentrated look on her face.

'_Well, if that isn't the 100 million dollar question,'_ my mind snorted. I could just barely stop myself from rolling my eyes.

* * *

**The movie is actually quite good and I tried not to spoil you too much here. So, what do you think of Jade so far? Is there anything in particular you would like to see happening? In addition, I am playing with the idea of having Jade confess her feelings for Bella before Alice does. Not sure though. What do you guys think? **

**Again, questions, comments, concern, any feedback, is ALWAYS welcome and appreciated! Thanks for reading!**

**A/N: I added a pictures of how I picture Jade to my profile.  
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	8. Why Are You So Cold?

**Still own nothing, but plot changes? **

**Thanks again to everyone who read my story, put it on his/her favorite and alert lists. I appreciate it.**

**ShadowCub, I tried to answer your last PM, but your PM's were disabled. I hope you are ok.**

**I didn't think I'd be able to update this week, so I am glad, I was wrong. I hope you like it.**

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**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 8**

**Why Are You So Cold?**

APOV

"What do you think of werewolves, Jade?" Bella addressed Jade once more with a concentrated look on her face.

'_Well, if that isn't the 100 million dollar question,'_ my mind snorted. I could just barely stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"Well, uh," Jade's gaze flickered between Bella and I, she clearly looked uncomfortable, which heightened my suspicions that Jade knew the legends were true.

"Yes? Why are you all of a sudden speechless?" Bella inquired a little confused.

"No, it's not that. Uh, I liked them too, in the movie. I mean, yes, the Alpha and his son were idiots, but overall, I think werewolves are pretty cool," Jade kept her gaze on Bella, giving her a crooked smile.

'_I bet you do,'_ my mind all but sneered. I was so concentrated on glaring at Jade that Bella's next question almost made me fall off the couch.

"Well, ok, so, how does this movie relate to your legends? I mean, was your tribe ever hunted by werewolves or what?" Bella returned Jade's smile.

'_Yeah, let's see how she handles this one,' _my mind chuckled.

"Uh, no, not really," Jade's gaze flickered once more to me. I know my presence made her uncomfortable. I was sure this conversation would go much smother without my in the room. _'Too bad,'_ my mind commented on my musings.

"So what, then?" Bella continued. I knew she would not let this one go.

"The legends tell that our people were descendents of wolves," Jade looked down at her thighs.

"Huh?" Bella asked confused? "What does that mean?" she went on, keeping her gaze on Jade.

"Well, basically, the legends talk about our ancestors being able to transform into werewolves." Jade still was very interested in her blue jeans.

"Ok. So, during full moon they would transform?" Bella asked curiously. _'Why does this not freak her out? Maybe, because they were still talking about legends, not facts'_ my mind retorted smartly.

"No, their transformations had nothing to do with the moon. They supposedly could change at will," Jade went on, looking up at Bella, finally, while still refusing to look into my direction.

"So, let me get this straight, your legends say your ancestors were wolves, but what does that have to do with Billy's dislike of the Cullens?" Bella asked curiously.

'_Huh?'_ even my mind lost its speech at that question. Now my gaze was going back and forth between Bella and Jade. The latter actually looked like she was about to bolt out of the room. Leave it to Bella to go directly to the bull's-eye.

"Bella, I told you those legends are just stories and Billy is just a fool, believing all of this. Just forget about it." Jade tried to avoid the answer.

'_Good luck with that,'_ my mind laughed.

"So what? If these legends make him dislike my friend, I want to know why?" Bella raised her arms, exasperated.

Jade looked so frustrated in that moment. Eventually, she sighed,

"these legends also talk about the 'Cold Ones' and that they are the natural enemy of the wolves."

"Cold Ones?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

'_Oh oh, this might turn really ugly,'_ my mind started to fret.

"Well, yeah, vampires." Jade still would not look at me.

"Ok." Bella stressed the word slowly. "I still don't see what that has to do with Alice and her family?" Bella looked at me, and then back to Jade.

"" Jade pressed out so quickly, I was not sure if Bella caught on.

Bella just stared at Jade for a few seconds, then, comprehension, on what she just had heard, dawned on her and she turned her head quickly to look at me. I had never seen her beautiful eyes look more intense than at this very moment.

"Vampires?" was the only thing she said, all the while her auburn eyes burned into my amber ones. _'I am so screwed,' _my mind sighed.

* * *

BPOV

'_Vampires? Billy thinks that the Cullens are vampires? That Alice is a vampire? This is ridiculous,'_ I reasoned right away. '_There are no such things as vampires!'_ my mind proclaimed agitated. Yet, Alice being a vampire would explain a lot. When I fixed on Alice's gaze, I noticed that she looked nervous and wary. '_Does that mean that she is a vampire?' _my mind wondered once more. This idea was slowly starting to blow my mind; I needed to stop thinking about all of this, if I didn't want to lose my mind entirely.

Jade was looking at me worriedly and Alice was focusing on her hands that she rested on her lap. _'You are so not leaving tonight!'_ my mind told Alice vehemently, not that she was able to hear me.

"Look, as I said, these are all just superstitions and my old man is a little confused. That's all. I'm sorry, I didn't want to offend you, Alice and, well, sorry for bringing down the mood," Jade addressed both Alice and I with a pleading look on her tan face.

"That is fine, Jade, my family is aware of the beliefs of your tribal elders. I am not offended, don't worry," Alice looked up and gave Jade a dazzling smile, that even Jade could not stop from reciprocating.

"Well, I guess it was just a surprise, you know, that Billy would believe something so silly, and, well, also let that stand in the way of his relationship with the Cullens," I added clumsily. _'This is so awkward,' _my mind complained.

Jade suddenly stood up,

"Bella, look, again, sorry for ruining the mood of the evening. I think I'll get going, then. It was good to spend some time with you. I hope we'll get to do that soon again. Alice." Jade hugged me, nodded at Alice and walked to the door.

"You stay," I hissed at Alice and followed Jade to the door.

"Bye Bells," Jade gave me a little smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Jade, really, don't worry, it's fine. I also enjoyed our time together. Drive safely, bye," I opened the door and waved after Jade's retreating figure.

Once back inside the living-room, Alice hadn't moved from her spot.

"I guess I'll better leave now," Alice started to get up from the couch. In an instant, I was by her side and pushed her back down on the couch. She looked up at me with wide eyes, I wasn't sure if she was surprised or scared in that moment.

"I told you to stay, Alice," I said more forcefully than I intended. I was just so frustrated at that moment and my mind was going so fast, I had a hard time keeping up.

"Well, maybe I don't want to stay, Bella?" Alice looked at me, and leaned back against the couch, making my hand slip off her shoulder.

Taken aback, I stepped back, _'ok, that just hurt,' _my mind voiced quietly.

Alice obviously realized that I was hurt,

"Look, Bella, I am sorry, it's just, I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow and I am still tired from our trip. I really think I should go home now," Alice said calmly, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think of that. But Alice, what about those legends?" I pressed on, tired or not, I wanted some answers.

Alice sighed, running her hand through her short hair, "what about them, Bella?" she looked into my eyes once more. Her eyes, which usually were warm and comforting, looked hard and frustrated.

"Uh, I know, they sound crazy, but, are they true? I mean, Alice, don't you think that would explain quite a lot?" I went on, hoping I did not sound completely crazy.

Alice was silent at first, turning her head to look out of the window into the dark. "Bella, that is just silly," she turned and looked at me again. There was no humor in her eyes. In fact, Alice looked so intense, it was almost scary. "What would these legends explain, Bella?" she cocked her head to the side, staring at me intently.

"Well, you never eat, and you are all so pale, not even talking about the fact that all of you have the same golden eyes. Don't you think that is weird for adopted siblings? I mean, anyway. You are also so fast sometimes, I don't know, Alice? Am I crazy? I mean, here I am actually considering that you are all vampires!" I rambled on frustrated.

"So, because you have never seen me eat in your presence and because we all share the same eye color, that makes us vampires? I happen to be on a special diet and as for the eye colors, well, Jasper and Rosalie are siblings, and for the rest, I don't know, coincidence? Stranger things happen every day, Bella." Alice spoke tense, getting out of the chair and walking towards the window.

"Then why are you so upset, Alice? Why would this bother you, if it isn't true? If all of this was just imagination, would the usual reaction not be to just laugh at this and move on?" I said calmly, I felt bad for putting Alice's in such an agitated state. I slowly started to walk towards her, stopping right behind her.

"Bella, please, let us just drop this, ok? I am not upset, just tired," Alice really sounded wary at this moment.

"I am not sure I can do this, Alice. I, I have never felt closer to anyone else and I feel like you are keeping this huge secret from me and,"

"Bella!" Alice interrupted me and turned around, which brought us in close proximity, since I had stood only a couple of inches away from her before. "Please, drop it. I feel close to you too and I, there are just some things that are better left unsaid," Alice looked at me pleadingly.

"So you don't trust me," I spoke quietly, hanging my head.

* * *

APOV

If vampires were able to get headaches, I'd bet that my head would have already exploded. This was all such a mess. _'Damn Jade and her stupid legends too.'_ I never wanted Bella to find out this way. Moreover, I was still so scared of what my revelation could mean, both for Bella and for our friendship.

Once, more, I asked Bella to drop it, "Please, drop it. I feel close to you too and I, there are just some things that are better left unsaid," my eyes were begging her to listen to me.

"So you don't trust me," Bella voiced so quietly, I almost had to strain to hear it. _'Gosh, what is she doing to me?'_ my mind was wringing its non-existing hands, while I looked at Bella, standing so defeated in front of me, hanging her head in defeat.

"Bella, this has nothing to do with trust, believe me," I touched her chin, lifted her head softly and looked into her eyes imploringly, willing her to believe the words I doubted myself.

"Of course, Alice, this has everything to do with trust and you know this," Bella's chocolate eyes were burning into my golden ones. _'Nice, Alice,'_ my mind sighed.

All of a sudden, Bella lifted her hands and cupped my face.

"You are so cold, Alice, not just today, but always. Why are you so cold? I am sure you have a convenient excuse for this, too, hmm, Alice?" Bella spoke softly. Her warm hands were burning on my cheeks, while her close proximity became almost unbearably intoxicating. My breathing became shallow, which I could not understand, since I did not even need that damn oxygen! I needed to get out of here; this was getting more and more out of hand.

I placed my hands over Bella's and moved them away from my face, whereupon Bella withdrew her hands as if I'd just slapped her.

"Bella, I am sorry. I understand if you need a break from all of this or if you even do not want to be my friend anymore, but this is just not right, I,"

"Damn it, Alice! You are being ridiculous! I don't need a break and I don't want to end our friendship! I want answers, Alice, please?" Bella lifted her hands and dropped them again in frustration.

"I know, but, I just cannot," I leaned forward, kissed her cheek swifyly, turned around and left. I knew I was a coward and that I could not prevent Bella from knowing the truth if I planned to continue our relationship, but I never saw this coming, and I was not prepared. I was so scared, I just had to leave. Bella's relentless questions, combined with her being so close to me were robbing me of my sanity. _'This is such a mess,'_ my mind complained while I sped off in my Porsche.

* * *

I still could not believe that I just left Bella like that. _'Some friend,'_ my mind sneered as I drove my car into the garage of our house. I was so frustrated with how badly I had handled this situation, I almost ran into Esme who was on her way into the living room.

"Alice! Are you ok? What happened?" she asked concerned, once she noticed my frantic state.

"Oh Esme," I sighed frustrated, coming to a stop in front of her. Had I been able to cry, I was sure I would bebawling at this moment. I had made such a mess!

"Come on, dear, let's sit down on the couch," Esme took my hand and led me to the couch, where I sat down and immediately put my face in my hands.

"You want to tell me what has you so upset, Alice?" Esme asked softly.

"No, not really," I sighed, looking up at her concerned face. "I messed things up with Bella," I rushed out, still so angry with myself.

"What do you mean, you messed things up?" Esme sounded a little alarmed at that.

"No, gosh, not like that!" I exclaimed forcefully. Why did my family always assume the worst? Was that some weird vampire trait?

"I'm sorry, Alice, I did not mean to doubt you," Esme said apologetic.

"It's all right," I sighed. "I meant that Bella asked me if we are vampires and I denied it, and then I just ran away," I hung my head ashamed.

"She what?" Esme exclaimed and stood up in a flash.

"Well, she had a movie night with Jade, a member of the Quileute tribe who also happens to be Bella's childhood friend. They watched a movie about werewolves, imagine? And the thing is, Jade is not even a mutt herself, at least she does not smell like one," I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. "And then, she acts as if she does not believe her tribes legends, yet, she basically outed me to Bella! I mean, why did she have to show Bella a werewolf movie to begin with, if she does not believe in the legends? The nerve of her! And imagine, afterward she even asked Bella what she thinks of werewolves! I just don't know," I got up and started pacing.

"Alice, that still doesn't explain how Bella knows about vampires, or for that matter, why she believes that we are vampires?" Emse asked confused, by now she had sat back down.

"Oh, yes, well, Bella wanted to know how Billy Black's dislike for us and the legends are connected. Naturally, Jade told her about the 'Cold Ones', and then, after Jade had left, one thing led to another, and Bella started to put two and two together." I sighed, sitting back down, too.

"But Alice, I thought you wanted to tell Bella eventually. Would that not have been the perfect opportunity to do so?" Esme inquired curiously.

"Well, hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it? Sorry, I do not mean to be so sarcastic, I am just so angry with myself. Yes, that would have been the perfect opportunity. Bella did not even seem all that freaked out by the idea of us being vampires. However, I was freaked out! I did not see this coming and you know how poorly I deal with surprises! I want to tell her, but I had never imagined my hand would be forced like that!" I looked at Esme pleadingly. "What shall I do now? Bella is so angry and I, ahhh, I could scream!" I pressed out angrily.

"I understand your frustration, honey, but in the end, if you want to keep Bella's friendship, which I am assuming you do, you will have to apologize to her and tell her the truth," Esme touched my cheek tenderly. "I know how much Bella means to you, Alice. You'll just have to trust that your friendship will endure all of this," Esme finished.

"What if she doesn't want to see me again, once she hears the truth?" I asked quietly, casting my eyes down on the floor.

"I think you are selling Bella short, Alice. We are not monsters, once she knows everything, I am sure she will be fine with us being vampires." Esme tried to reassure me.

"I truly hope you are right, Esme. Just the thought of losing Bella's friendship is unbearable. I never want to find out how the reality feels like," I stood up, and helped Esme up too. I bent over to hug Esme,

"Thank you, Esme. Your support means a lot to me. I will tell Bella, tomorrow." The same moment I said this, and while Esme returned my hug, I was enveloped in a vision,

_I saw Bella getting up; her eyes looked all red and blotchy, as if she had spent the night crying._ I cringed. _Then, Bella got ready and wrote a note for Charlie, "Dad, I'm going to the bookstore downtown. Don't know when I'll be back,"_ I read, before the vision ended.

"Alice, honey, are you ok? What did you see?" Esme asked worriedly, she had felt me cringe once I had seen Bella.

"Bella, she will go to the bookstore tomorrow morning and it looked like she had been crying all night." I sighed, very unhappy with myself.

"Will you go to her now?" Esme inquired compassionately.

"I don't know, maybe she needs the night to clear her head. It is already pretty late. Maybe it is better to meet her tomorrow at the bookstore. What do you think?" I looked at Esme, unsure what to do next.

"You know Bella better than I do, dear, I am sure you will do the right thing." Esme smiled, squeezed my arm and turned to walk into the kitchen.

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**Yes, Bella will finally hear the truth in the next chapter. About damn time, I think! What do you think of this chapter?**

**Comments, questions, concerns and criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!**


	9. Why Aren't You Crushed?

**I still own nothing, but the plot changes. I especially do not own the characters; they belong to SM, as we all know. Oh, and parts of it belong to Hot Chelle Rae.**

**This update frequency will not become a habit, sadly. I just really loved your reviews and they inspired me to write this today. Also, the fact that I had quite some time while my women took a nap, helped a little :-)**

**Oh, and sorry that I have not replied to your latest reviews, but I figured you'd prefer an update to an answer to your review. Will answer all of them tomorrow, though.**

**Thanks again for reading and especially for all the reviews and alerts! I appreciate it!**

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**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 9**

**Why Aren't You Crushed?**

BPOV

I couldn't believe that Alice had just left like this! I mean, it is one thing to not want to talk about something, but it is quite another to just run away. And, let's face it, that's what Alice was doing, she was running. But, from what? Was she mad at me because I didn't let the idea that she was a vampire go? Was she hiding something else that she couldn't tell me? Did she think I was crazy and was just fed up with me? What if, she really was a vampire and thought I didn't want to be her friend anymore, once I knew? No, that is ludicrous. First off, I am still not sure if I am ready to believe in vampires, secondly, how could she doubt my feelings for her? Obviously, if Alice were in fact a vampire, she could have killed me endless times before, so, she would be a nice vampire, right? _'That is your reasoning? You find that comforting?'_ my mind started to doubt its own sanity. Great! I sighed and went back up to my room. I missed Alice. I hated fighting with her, not that we had ever done that before.

Once back in my room I opted to take a shower, at this point, I just wanted to go to bed and forget about this dreadful evening. Naturally, under the shower, my mind decided it would be a good idea to reply my fight with Alice. _'I hate crying!'_ I thought angrily, while letting the water from the shower get rid of my tears. Even though, crying in the shower also had its advantages, no need for tissues or watery eyes. All marks of your crying are just being washed away, as if it never happened. I went through the motions of finishing my shower, dressed and curled up in my bed. _'How could she leave me like that?'_ my mind kept asking. She must know that this was hurting me, yet, she still left! Did I care more about her than she cared about me? I mean, I would not ever have left her like this! _'You just don't do that to someone you love!'_ my mind proclaimed furiously. At that thought, I sat up straight and nervously ran my hand through my hair. _'Back up for a second,'_ my mind demanded, while I whispered, "Love?" into my empty room. I loved Alice? _'Like a friend, like your best friend,' _my mind suggested nervously. I shook my head at this thought, no, I did not love Alice like my best friend. I mean, sure, she was my best friend, but she was also more than that. I, I was in love with Alice. _'Huh, didn't see that coming,'_ my mind whispered, then sarcastically replied, _'obviously!'_ Great, now my mind is insulting itself. But, what did this mean? Did I want a relationship with Alice? Can I even imaging kissing her? Just the mere thought of kissing Alice's smooth beautiful lips made my heart race, while my stomach dropped and my whole body flushed. _'I take that as a yes,'_ my mind felt the need to quip. I took a deep breath. Ok, let us recapture: I was in love with Alice, and I liked the idea of kissing her. _'Liked?' _my mind chuckled, and if I could, I would have thrown a pillow at my mind right about now. Suddenly, my slow building elation at my newfound discovery dropped like a boulder thrown off a mountain. She left. Alice just left. So, obviously, I felt more than she did. She wouldn't have left otherwise, right? But she did kiss me on the cheek, and besides, should I really judge this whole situation by what had occurred tonight? _'God, this is so aggravating,'_ my mind complained, while I put my face in the palms of my hands. Why did I have to find out that I was in love with Alice through a fight? That was so typical of me! I almost got out of bed and called Alice. But, what would I say? Hey, Alice, I just figured out I am in love with you, and that makes you leaving me as you did tonight even worse? Not really, I snorted. On another note, will we still meet tomorrow? Would Alice still come to see me, even after the fight we had? I hoped so, just the idea of not seeing Alice tomorrow made my stomach churn quite unpleasantly. _'Alice Cullen, you better get your behind here tomorrow, if you know what is good for you!'_ my mind exclaimed, suddenly more frustrated than sad. I lied back down; this was going to be a long night. _'What a mess,'_ my mind whispered, while fresh tears shot into my eyes.

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APOV

After my talk with Esme, I went back to my room. I wanted to prepare my speech for tomorrow. Yet, things were not going too well, since after two hours of fruitless contemplation, I was still sitting motionless at my desk. Suddenly, Edward started to play a hauntingly melancholic piano piece. I raised my head, struck by inspiration I grabbed a notebook and a pen and started to write,

**I feel like I'm drowning in ice water. My lips have turned a shade of blue. I'm frozen with this fear, that you may disappear, before I've given you the truth.**

'_Huh, that sums up the situation quite nicely,'_ I thought while rereading what I had just written down. Edward's melody continued, and so did my inspiration,

**I've always dreamed about this moment, and now it's here and I've turned to stone.  
I stand here petrified; as I look you in your eyes, my head is ready to explode.  
I bleed my heart out on this paper for you, so you can see what I can't say. I'm dying here, 'cause I can't say what I want to. I bleed my heart out just for you. And it's all here in black and white and red, for all the times those words were never said.**

I finished in harmony with Edward's song. _'That' was interesting,'_ my mind sighed, when I suddenly heard Edward knock on my door.

"Come in," I sighed, already knowing what was going to happen. Sometimes my gift sucked. _'And yet, a few days ago you were complaining that your gift doesn't work anymore. Make up you mind, why don't you,'_ my mind all but sneered_. 'Someone's cranky,'_ I replied, the same moment Edward started to chuckle.

"I have to say, Alice, you do have the most amusing internal debates that I have ever heard from anybody."

"I am not sure that this is a compliment, brother," I answered with a slight frown on my face.

"Oh, it is, believe me. Most peoples' minds are quite boring, or irritating for that matter," he said chuckling, while sitting down on my couch across from where I was sitting. "I couldn't help but hearing what you wrote. It sounds nice, but it is also gloomy, which is not usually your department." Edward continued slowly.

"So, only you're allowed to be gloomy in this family?" I asked a little aggravated, even though most of my anger was still directed at me.

"No, of course not. I am sorry, Alice, I just, I worry about you," Edward spoke sincerely.

I sighed, "I am sorry, too, Edward. I do not mean to take my bad mood out on you. I will be fine, don't worry," I smiled at him.

"Alice, your writing, does that mean you will tell Bella about us?" Edward inquired carefully.

"Yes, I will tell her, tomorrow," I said more assured than I felt.

"I see. Well, how will it go?" Edward looked at me apprehensively.

"I don't know, I have not seen Bella's reaction yet. I just, I have to tell her. We had a huge fight tonight because I denied that we are vampires and then I just ran away like a stupid coward," I ranted on.

"She knows? Then why did you deny it?" Edward asked, a mixture of surprise and confusion clouding his voice.

"Well, not really, she just suspects it after hearing the Quileute legends." I explained exasperated, still feeling slightly irked by Jade.

"Ok, Alice, now I'm really confused. Why would Bella hear about the wolf legends?" Edward looked thoroughly perplexed by now.

"Long story short, Bella watched a werewolf movie with her friend Jade, a Quileute, and was then told the legends, whereupon she concluded that we must be vampires." I rolled my eyes thinking back of this awful evening.

"I still don't understand why you didn't just tell Bella the truths, though," Edward continued.

"Didn't you read Esme's mind?" I asked frustrated, not really in the mood to tell the whole story again.

"No, Esme went out hunting earlier, and I wasn't paying too much attention to anyone's thoughts," Edward sounded apologetic.

"Well, I am just a coward, and I was surprised, freaked out and afraid to lose Bella, so I just denied everything and hightailed out of there," I gave him the cliff notes.

"I see," Edward sighed. "Well, that sure explains your writing. But, I really don't think you should worry too much. I mean, you will tell her everything tomorrow, and Bella doesn't appear as if she is the type to hold a grudge forever, so, you'll be fine," Edward smiled at me.

"I hope so, Edward, I really do," I looked at him depressed.

"I'm sure, and if you need to talk about it some more, just let me know," he stood up, kissed my head and left my room.

"Thanks," I whispered after him, turning back to my writing, contemplating on giving this to Bella tomorrow.

* * *

BPOV

The next morning I woke up with a headache. _'That's what happens if you cry through the night,'_ my mind spoke up, and I closed my eyes, counting to ten, refusing to reprimand my own mind, no matter how much it annoyed me. Seriously, these debates needed to stop! I looked at the watch, it was just past 8 o'clock, so I decided to follow through with the idea I had before finally falling asleep last night, I'd go to the bookstore and get every book on vampires I can find. Alice's won't know what hit her!

xxx

After I got ready, I quickly ate a cereal bar and wrote Charlie a note to tell him where I would be, I hoped into my car and drove to the local bookstore. Once there, I got lucky with the parking and went right away inside. Now, where were those vampire books? I started to browse the selections, but mostly I found just plain old horror books. I contemplated picking up a copy of _Dracula_, when a pimple-faced teenager asked me if I needed any help.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Do you have any other books about vampires?" I dared the teenager to make fun at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, let me check," and off to the computer he was. I grabbed the copy of _Dracula_ and followed him.

After a few moments of furious typing, Brad, at least that was what his name sign said, looked up at me through his brown horn-rimmed glasses. "Well, I am not sure this is what you are looking for, but we have a book about local legends of the Quileute tribe, that mentions vampires at some point?" Brad finished, looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah, that sounds good, I'll get that one," I tried not to sound too excited, that was actually better than good.

Brad went to get the book, while I anxiously drummed my fingers on the counter.

"Here it is, do you want me to ring those up for you or do you want to keep browsing?" Brad pointed at the _Dracula_ in my hand.

"Uh, no, I think I am done, here you go," I handed over the book and got ready to pay.

Once the book shopping was done, I found myself reluctant to go back home. I was just about to leave the bookstore when I spotted a corner with some comfortable looking chairs, where I decided to sit down and read the legend book.

The index of the book said nothing about vampires, but pointed me toward the _Cold Ones_, which, thanks to Jade, I knew referred to vampires. I opened the relevant chapter and skimmed through it. No patience, I know. **'cold to the touch,…,superior strength,…, pale skin, ruby red eyes,…,immortal,…,deadly,…,blood as sustenance….' **_'Huh, the Pixie is neither strong nor does she have red eyes,'_ my mind contemplated after reading through the vampire characteristics described in the Quileute legends. I kept looking through the pages for more information and was so distracted that I failed to notice someone sitting down in the chair next to mine.

"Hello, Bella," a melodic voice brought me out of my reverie. At first, I thought I was hallucinating, brought on by my current reading material. I looked up, slowly and couldn't stop the grin that spread over my face once I saw Alice's beautiful, dainty face. I lost that smile though, once I saw her serious expression.

"Hello, Alice. What are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly surprised at her presence.

"Uh, I saw your car when I was driving through town for my errands," Alice looked at me, her eyes darting nervously around the room.

"Ok, hmmm, so, what do you want?" I asked carefully.

"Well, I wanted to apologize, for, for just running off like that, last night, I mean," Alice practically stumbled over her words, which made me very suspicious. Alice's speech is usually so impeccable.

"Ok, well, yeah, that was, uhm, not your finest moment?" I answered, shrugging my shoulders.

"You're right, and I am really sorry Bella. Will you forgive me?" Alice looked at me pleadingly.

"For running off? Yes, for lying to me last night? Not so much," I said a little louder than I intended.

Alice's face fell, which made me cringe. _'I really hate seeing her hurt,'_ my mind sighed frustrated.

"I, Bella, can we talk somewhere else?" Alice's eyes begged me to agree to her question.

"Sure, but I don't think we will have all that much to talk about, if you don't want to tell me the truth, that is," I added, not wanting to hurt her further, but also needing to make my point clear. I really needed to know the truth.

"I will tell you everything, Bella, I promise, just let's get out of here," Alice said sincerely, while slowly taking my hand and leading me out of the bookstore.

Her hand was so cold, like always. This brought me back to the characteristics of vampires I had just read about in the legends book.

"What were you reading, anyway?" Alice asked while we left the bookstore.

"A book about Quileute legends, they mention the _Cold Ones_, again," I answered, my eyes never leaving Alice's figure. She immediately dropped her head and closed her eyes.

"It figures you would not forget about this," she whispered slowly.

"Forget about it? Alice, are you serious?" I started to fume. "This is what our whole fight was about, in case you have forgotten," I glared at her.

Alice looked up and me, her eyes serious, yet so beautiful, I felt the anger leave my body immediately.

"I have not forgotten, Bella, believe me," she looked at me and squeezed me hand, leading me through the door.

All of a sudden, I heard this loud screeching noise and looked up to see a swerving, out of control van speeding into our direction. With wide eyes I stood frozen, awaiting our assured doom. _'Crashed by a van, what a stupid way to die,'_ my mind uttered, what I believed to be its last words, when all of a sudden cold hands grabbed my hips and basically threw me behind Alice's delicate figure. I was about to protest when the van violently crashed into Alice's outstretched hands. Metal groaned pitifully, bending to Alice's delicate hands, while the van came to an abrupt stop. I couldn't believe my eyes, not only were we not crushed to a pulp, but Alice had stopped, and in the process, dented a freaking van with her hands! Hello? I kept standing there, frozen, unable to do or say anything.

"Come on, Bella, we've got to go," Alice practically dragged me to her car, completely ignoring my poor old truck. I let her haul me to the car; I even let her push me into the passenger seat and still could not utter a word, while Alice started to speed away from the scene of the accident.

"Bella, are you all right? Are you injured? Why aren't you talking?" Alice rushed out worriedly.

I turned to look at her aghast. "Why am I not talking? I think the more appropriate question is, why aren't you crushed, Alice? Or even better, how come we are not dead? Am I all right? Really?" I almost shouted at her.

"Bella, please. There is no reason to shout at me! I did not drive that van, after all." Alice looked at me hurt.

I sighed. "Sorry, it's just, these last twelve hours have been a lot and I am about to lose my mind here. But no, I'm not injured." I spoke guiltily.

* * *

APOV

"I understand, Bella, and again, I'm sorry. I am glad though, that you did not get injured." I sighed happily. I could not believe I did not see that van coming! I was distracted by Bella and so worried about telling her about our family, I must have missed that vision! She could have died! My unbeating heart dropped into my stomach at the mere thought. _'Well, even if you hadn't planned on telling her today, this little inhuman display of strength would have made it impossible to avoid telling Bella the truth,'_ my mind uttered smartly.

"Where are we going, Alice?" Bella wanted to know, while she was looking out of the window.

"We are going to your place," I answered slowly. I thought that might be the best idea, that way, if she wants to be alone after hearing the truth, I can just leave.

"Why?" Bella looked at me confused.

"I mean, I want to tell you the truth and I, I don't know, I just thought you might not want to be around me after you hear all this." I couldn't even look at Bella.

"I doubt that," Bella said sincerely, looking out of the window again.

xxx

Back in Bella's room, the mood became even more awkward with both of us just standing in the room, looking at our feet.

"So," Bella shuffled her feet. "Maybe we should sit down, get comfortable, you know?" Bella suggested.

"Okay," I answered nervously, sitting down on Bella's bed, whereupon Bella sat down next to me.

"So, the truth? Alice, uh, are you a vampire?" Bella whispered after a moment of silence, while avoiding to look at me.

"Yes," I whispered, looking at my hands on my lap. I was also unable to look at Bella, I had never been more terrified in my entire life.

Bella just kept sitting next to me, quiet and motionless. _'Why doesn't she say something?' _my mind whined. After a few more moments of utter silence, I just could not take it anymore.

"Bella, please just say something?" I pleaded, still absolutely terrified of her reaction. What if she hated me? I almost found myself praying to any deity that might exist so that this story could have a happy ending. I could not even abide the thought of losing Bella; the reality of it might kill me, if not in body, then in spirit.

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**Thank you for reading!**

**So, what do you think? How do you think Bella will react to Alice's confession? I am sorry about the cliffhanger, but if I do not end here, I will not get to another good stopping point for a while.**

**Oh, and the poem/song Alice wrote to Edward's melody, it is from a song called **_**Bleed**_** by Hot Chelle Rae, I obviously do not own it. I am not a fan of theirs; I just stumbled upon this song while flipping channels on TV, right when I had just finished the 2****nd**** chapter of this story. I thought that the lyrics fit perfectly with Alice's thoughts/fears regarding telling Bella the truth about her being a vampire. Still, it is a good song, IMO.**

**Comments, questions, concerns and critical thoughts are always appreciated. **


	10. 110?

**As usual, I own nothing but plot changes. **

**Sorry, this chapter is only half as long as my usual chapters, but I do not like cliffhangers and I do not know when I can otherwise post and I just didn't want to leave you hanging too long. Next chapter will be longer, I promise!**

**Thanks again for reading, putting as favorites and alerts, I appreciate it!**

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**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 10**

**110?**

APOV

"So, you're a vampire, huh?" Bella suddenly spoke calmly.

I turned to look at her, "yes?" was all I could get out timidly.

"I'm guessing that means that the rest of your family members are vampires, too?" Bella still sounded eerily calm. This was really starting to freak me out.

"Yes," again, was the only answer I could give her. Bella was still not looking at me, she kept staring at the floor, when all of a sudden she jumped off the bed and turned to glare at me.

"Really? Alice, how could you do this? I mean, God, I cannot even tell you how angry I am at you right now!" Bella hurled at me loudly, whereupon my head sunk and my eyes filled with tears that would never fall.

"I mean, you lied to me, this whole time! And I knew something was up, you made me worry you had an eating disorder, for crying out loud! But, to top it all, I asked you flat out if you are a vampire yesterday, and you made me sound like I was crazy. You left me, you lied and then you just left me," Bella continued to rage on vehemently. This was not going well, in fact, it looked like my worst fears were coming true. _'She will end our friendship,'_ my mind voiced shakily.

"I will leave you then," I whispered contritely and slowly stood up, I could not even look at Bella. I was sure, if I took one look at her, I would break down.

"Excuse me?" Bella sputtered, grabbing my arms and pushing me back into a sitting position on the bed.

"You don't get it, do you?" she inquired flabbergasted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Alice, look at me!" she asked softly.

I raised my head slowly and I know Bella could see the tears shimmering in my eyes.

* * *

BPOV

'_What are you doing?'_ my mind practically screamed at me outraged once I saw the tears in Alice's eyes. My chest clenched and all the air left my body once I looked into Alice's devastated face. _'She thinks I am angry that she is a vampire!'_ my mind whispered breathlessly.

"Alice," I started, sounding a lot calmer again. "I am not angry that you are a vampire, I am angry that you lied to me, that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth," I whispered, sitting down next to Alice. She turned to look at me, her eyes wide in surprise.

"I love you, Alice," I whispered, touching her cheek softly. "I mean, you are my best friend, I don't care that you are a vampire," I continued, steering my comment into much safer harbors.

Alice's eyes filled with tears at my words and I was prepared to wipe them away, but they never fell. _'Huh, if that is a vampire thing?'_ my mind contemplated. Still, seeing Alice like this pained me, so I quickly drew her into a hug. She smelled so good, an assortment of lavender and cheery blossom, mixed with a bit of sunshine. I know, that was an odd description, but it appeared to be the only way to describe Alice's heavenly scent.

"Do you really mean that, Bella?" Alice whispered softly into my neck.

"Of course Alice, I mean, how could you think that I would be mad at you for being a vampire?" I answered quickly.

"Well, I mean, vampires are not necessarily known to be friends with humans, and on some level, I am a monster," Alice sighed, still hiding her face in my neck.

"Alice, don't ever say that! You are not a monster and I do not care whether or not humans and vampires are usually friends or not, we are friends, right?" I answered hotly, holding Alice's small frame tightly to my own body.

"Yes, of course, Bella. We are friends," Alice sounded relieved, hugged me tightly for a moment and then slowly let go of me. Even though Alice's fragile body always felt chilly, my body shivered once I lost her closeness. _'This being in love with your best friend is going to get complicated,_' my mind sighed depressed.

I just kept staring at Alice until she cocked her head and cleared her throat,

"Uhm, do you not have any questions for me?" she asked, sounding a little confused.

"I guess, I mean, I think I know most of it already. You're immortal, strong, fast, really cold to the touch, you're pale, which is kind of obvious and, well, you drink blood, I am assuming? How am I doing so far?" I looked at Alice quizzically.

"Too well, actually. Doesn't any of this bother you?" Alice still looked at me with wide eyes.

"No, not really, I mean, you are still Alice, you know? But wait, how old are you?" I suddenly asked alarmed.

"That is your greatest worry? My age?" Alice shook her head and chuckled a little.

"Well, yeah?" I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her.

"I am 20, I believe," Alice's forehead wrinkled in thought at that.

"You believe? And I guess I have to be more precise here, but when did you turn 20?" I looked at Alice intently.

She laughed and shook her head one more time. I never thought of myself as that amusing, but I guess I had my moments.

"Not bad, Bella. As for your first question, I only believe that I am 20 because I do not really remember my human past. As for your second question, again, I am somewhat guessing here, albeit likely very accurately, I turned 20 in 1921." Alice finished and looked at me amused.

I jumped of the bed. "You're what? You were born in 1901?" I ran my hand through my hair and started pacing. "Alice, you're, you are what? Almost 110 years old?" I could hardly believe this. I was in love with someone who was older than my grandmother. _'Ugh, don't even go there,'_ my mind begged me.

"Really, Bella? The fact that I am a vampire and drink blood leaves you cold, but the idea that I am born over 100 years ago sends you into a panic? You are very weird, even for a human," Alice laughed, watching me pace with a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"No, I mean, yes, it's just, you look like you are my age, and I mean, I guess you could believably go for 20, but 110? Sorry, but that is just crazy." I answered, still pacing up and down my bedroom.

"Obviously I never aged after my transformation at 20, Bella," Alice still smiled at me indulgently.

"Obviously," I muttered, sighed, and finally sat back down next to Alice.

"Well, I guess for a great-grandma you look alright," I joked, whereupon Alice punched my arm.

"Do not call me that!" she exclaimed, looking a little outraged.

I laughed at her ire; she really was just too cute.

"Still, Bella, I have to ask, you don't mind that we drink blood?" Alice really seemed stuck on that idea.

"Well, I guess you'd have to eat something." I shrugged my shoulders. "I am also assuming you go for blood-bags, like in _Crepuscule_? Is that why you showed me the movie?" I suddenly looked at Alice a little upset. _'That evil little pixie!'_ my mind complained.

"Blood-bags? Oh, no, we do not drink human blood. My family and I, we only hunt animals. While blood-bags are a nice idea, they do not allow you to hunt and also, we really do not want to get used to the taste of human blood. That would make the task of resisting human blood in its natural form just that much harder." Alice explained thoughtfully. "And as for the movie, I just wanted to gauge your reaction to the idea of vampires, even if it was just in the form of a movie," Alice looked at me apologetic.

"I guess I can see that," I sighed. Then, suddenly remembering something,

"Oh my God, Alice, I am so sorry. I told you I didn't like vampires, right?" I asked, my cheeks turning crimson at the mere memory.

Alice started to laugh, "I believe you said you're not that fond of vampires, if I remember correctly.

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**Thanks for reading!**

**Horribly short, I know. Again, sorry.**

**Do you think I am drawing things out too long? Are you bored? I am a little insecure right now about the pace of the story. I plan to have Belle meet the rest of the Cullens in the next chapter and also move things both with Alice and Jade further along, time-wise, I mean.**

**Anyway, please leave some comments and ideas, they are always very helpful and deeply appreciated. Cheers!**


	11. Half a Life?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot changes.**

**Sorry for the long wait and thanks for all the reviews and alerts, they mean a lot to me. **

**Also, I am once more slow with replying to reviews, I will try my best to answer all the reviews for the last chapter as soon as possible.**

**I rather dropped the ball with this one, and I am not quite sure if I really like this chapter.**

**

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**

**Twilight:REDUX**

**Chapter 11**

**Half a Life?**

APOV

"Oh my God, Alice, I'm so sorry. I told you I didn't like vampires, right?" Bella sounded positively appalled and her cheeks immediately changed to a blushing crimson.

I started to laugh, "I believe you said you're not that fond of vampires, if I remember correctly," I just loved seeing Bella squirm a little.

She got up again and once more started to pace around her room, quietly mumbling to herself. I figured she did not know yet that I would still be able to understand every word the uttered.

"I can't believe this…to insult you best friend like this...so typical, 110, why is this bothering me anyway? Whatever…not too fond of vampires, my foot…" Bella's little tirade continued until I could not hold back anymore and busted out laughing.

"Bella, you're aware that I heard every word you just said, right?" I asked amused.

Bella immediately stopped pacing; she opened, and then closed her mouth again, staring at me incredulous. Suddenly, her auburn eyes blazed dangerously and I had to swallow convulsively once she stepped a few steps in my direction.

"You can't be serious, Alice ," she all but screamed at me. "That is just plain rude, I mean, you could've said you heard me from the start instead of listening to all this stuff," Bella sounded sincerely frustrated and suddenly let her raised arms fall to her sides, dropping her head.

"I'm sorry, Bella! I just, you were so cute and, I mean, you're funny, you know? And I'm not mad about your comment regarding vampires, I know weren't aware of my family at the time. Besides, which human is fond of bloodsucking creatures that consider humanity the prime dish of their diet?" I tried to counter Bella's anger with humor, yet, she did not move or look up at me at first. _'Guess humor accomplished nothing, huh?_' my mind quipped unnecessarily. "Bella, please, I'm sorry." I pleaded with Bella once more.

Bella finally looked up but she was still wearing a slight frown on her beautiful face. She sat back down next to me, sighing,

"So, what else makes you different, being a vampire, I mean, besides the obvious ability to eavesdrop," she looked at me expectantly.

"Well, I mean, for all intents and purposes we are dead, which is why we're so cold and pale, I guess," I started, looking away from her. While I did not believe that being a vampire necessitates being a monster, I was still constantly aware of the beast that lived within me, that even now rattled in its cage, angrily and without reason demanding Bella's delicious blood. This awareness of how dangerous we are, even though we try to do no harm, instilled in me the desire to avoid glamorizing vampires for Bella.

When I turned my gaze back on Bella, she just continued to look at me, a vulnerable and open expression on her face, silently urging me on to continue.

I sighed, "We don't die, I mean, not of any "natural" causes, like humans do. We can only be killed by being ripped apart and then burned. Naturally, we don't get sick, we don't change. I look the same way I did when I was first changed into a vampire. As for abilities, we are very fast and all our senses, hearing, vision and so on, they are all greatly enhanced. We can't cry and we don't sleep, which gives new meaning to living forever, huh?" I carefully studied Bella, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Ok, I mean, that is, well, you're quite different. I mean, it is nice to not get sick or die, I guess, but not sleeping? What do you do with all that time?" Bella looked at me curiously, while nervously rubbing her hands together.

"Depends, we all do different things. Edward reads, composes music or plays the piano; Carlisle reads or spends his time with Esme, naturally. Well, Emmett and Rose have each other, and well, Emmett loves video games and Rose is interested in cars. I, personally, like to draw, read or write, I guess. It is a lot of time to pass, you're right," I smiled at Bella. She was taking all of this so easily. I was not sure if this should worry me or make me happy.

"So, uhm, how often do you eat and, can you eat human food? What happens to you if you don't eat for a while? Can that kill you?" Bella continued with her questions.

"How often we have to eat also depends on the circumstances. Usually, if all things are normal, we eat maybe once a week, but we can easily go two or three weeks without eating and while that won't be too pleasant, it is not really harming us. If we go without eating for a long time it weakens us, eventually, we become so weak that for all intents and purposes, we look like we are in a coma, or even dead. Then again, once we receive some blood, we would recuperate quickly, even from such a weakened state. I don't think that not eating can kill us, but maybe you should talk to Carlisle about that," I smiled at Bella, who still looked at me with wide eyes. This truly was a lot to take in.

"As for eating human food, we can eat your food, but it tastes disgusting to us and eventually, we have to purge it from our systems. We don't really have a working digestive tract, so, our bodies cannot process human food," I finished, looking at Bella curiously to see if she had any more questions.

"I don't know Alice; all of this really doesn't sound too bad. I don't understand why you couldn't tell me earlier?" Bella looked at me and then quickly cast her eyes downward.

"I'm glad you're taking this so well, Bella, but believe me, being a vampire isn't all sunshine and roses, no pun intended here," I added quickly, once Bella looked up at me slightly reproachful. "We are predators, and while we don't drink human blood, we still crave it, it's our nature to do so," I looked at Bella intently, she closed her eyes for a second and I was immediately afraid that she would finally realize that I am dangerous, and consequently might not want to be around me anymore.

"So, do you crave my blood, too?" Bella whispered, unable to look at me.

If I had a heart, I am sure it would have stopped right then. _'How do I answer this question?' _my mind complained panicky. I looked at Bella, but she was still staring at her hands. The truth? I sighed,

"Would it scare you if I said yes," I whispered back, tearing my gaze away from Bella, now it was my turn to look at my hands.

"I don't know, honestly. I mean, you said you still crave human blood, and, well, I'm human, so it makes sense that you'd also crave my blood, right?" Bella started slowly.

"Yes," was all I could get out, still amazed at Bella's composure.

"I mean, it is a little scary, not that I'm afraid of you, or anything, it's just, you're my best friend and you crave my blood, yet, you restrain yourself, so, in a way, by being with me, I hurt you?"

"Huh?" I stared at Bella blankly. _'What in the world is she talking about?'_ my mind wondered thoroughly confused.

"You usually don't befriend humans, right? I'm guessing here, because of all the gossip at school, you know, that you usually stay away from everyone. Yet, you didn't stay away from me," Bella continued, looking at me sadly.

"Yes, go on," I urged Bella on, still not sure what she was talking about.

"Well, I just figured you stay away from humans so you won't be tempted by their blood. It can't be pleasant to have a craving that you can never satisfy, I'd imagine. But, here you are, in my room. You slept here; we've spent so much time together during the last few months. Basically, you've surrounded yourself with what you crave but can't have, so, by being my friend, you're hurting." Bella finished, and all I could do was gape at her stupidly.

"Bella, are you serious? Here I am, confessing that I crave your blood and instead of running away screaming, which, by the way, would be the healthy response to such a confession, you are worried that our friendship is hurting me? You think I'm hurting because I refrain from draining you?" I got up, upset, at what, I was not sure.

"Well, I don't want to hurt you, but also, doesn't all this mean that at some point, being around me might become too much for you, and then you'll leave?" Bella said thoughtfully.

"Oh, Bella!" I sighed and went to hug her, immediately being flooded by her delicious warm strawberry scent. My throat burned painfully, but at the same time, I was also ecstatic at being so close to Bella. After a moment, I slowly moved away from her.

"You have no sense of self-preservation! Has anyone ever told you that? And please, don't worry about hurting me, I can deal with the thirst. I'm actually more worried about accidentally hurting you. Bella, you really have no idea how fragile you are and how careful I have to be when touching you. One wrong movement and I shatter all your bones." I sighed sadly.

"Seriously? You are that strong?" Bella looked at me amazed. "You sure don't look it, Pixie," Bella started to laugh. '_Here we go with that nickname again' _my mind sighed. Why did everyone always think that I was neither strong nor scary just because I happen to be small?

"Yes, Bella, I'm that strong and that's not a joke. I could seriously injure you and if I'm not careful, I could even kill you. Do you understand what I am saying here?" I started to become a little agitated and got up again. "I need you to take this seriously, Bella. I am so selfish for wanting to be your friend, for wanting to be in your presence, but so help me, I'll not let you make light of this! I need you to be aware of the dangers and I need you to be safe," I continued while looking at Bella intently.

"Ok, I get it, Alice. But, if you're so dangerous and if I need to be aware of all this, how come you never told me all of this before? Wasn't I in more danger not knowing?" leave it to Bella to ask uncomfortable questions.

I turned to look out of the window, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"I know. Maybe, in a way, you were in more danger before knowing, but in the end, I think you're in more danger now. We're not supposed to share our secret with humans and by telling you I may very well have placed your life in danger." I was so ashamed of myself, my voice got lower with each word. "If I didn't tell you the truth, though, I would have lost you and I'm too selfish for that," I laughed derisively. I guess that was what my family warned me about when they offered their concerns about our friendship.

I was so busy beating myself up that I did not notice Bella approach me until she stood right behind me and placed her warm hand on my icy shoulder.

"You're not selfish, Alice. I wouldn't have let you go, regardless. I mean, I basically tore the secret form you and believe me, I would have stalked you, if needed." Now it was Bella trying humor to ease the tension.

"That may be the case, but I could have disappeared, you would've been safe then," I shrugged my shoulders while placing my hand on top of Bella's still resting on my shoulder.

"Alice!" Bella sounded truly upset. I wanted to turn to look at her, but before I could move she had started to grab my arm and turned me around, I just let her. "Don't you ever dare to do such a thing! Why would you even say that? I mean, do you have any idea how much you'd hurt me?" Bella sounded so angry and frustrated, I looked into her eyes, stunned to see them brimming with tears.

"Bella," I whispered, lifting my hand carefully to cup her cheek. "Please, I'm sorry, don't be upset." Bella leaned into my hand and closed her eyes. "I just worry about you and I don't want to hurt you. Sometimes you have to let go, if the alternative is too painful. I could never forgive myself for hurting you," I continued, pleading with her to understand.

"I know, Alice, I get that. I just, just the thought of you leaving feels like you punch a hole through me, I don't wanna know how you actually leaving would feel like. Besides, you won't hurt me, I mean, we've already spent so much time together, and you never once hurt me! What makes me knowing what you are so different?" Bella moved away from me, returning to sit on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest and quickly embraced her legs.

'_Yes, what indeed?'_ my mind started to question its sanity, and it was not alone in doing so.

* * *

BPOV

This was all so frustrating. It was as if Alice wanted me to freak out that she was a vampire. Yes, the concept of her family being vampires was mind-blowing, and I was aware that this information still hadn't completely settled with me, but so far, everything she told me didn't sound all that bad. I mean, I was still a little unsure as to how I felt about her craving my blood, but I thought my issue was more because even the sight of blood made me nauseous. I've always felt safe around Alice, this new information didn't change that. Why was Alice making such a big deal out of all of this?

After I had sat down on the bed again, Alice still hadn't moved from her spot in front of the window.

"Bella, I just, I've never been in the situation where a human knew my secret. And, you're not just any human to me, you're my friend. I know, I'm not handling this too well, I guess I was just so prepared for you to freak out, that now, I don't even know how to handle you being so calm," Alice sighed, dropping her arms after wildly gesticulating while talking. I had to smile, this nervous side of Alice was new, and to be honest, kinda cute.

"I think I understand what you mean Alice, I just, I don't like talking about our friendship being over, or about you leaving for good. So, can we just drop all of this and move on? I mean, you're a vampire, I'm human, we can't change that. But what about we try to just be Alice and Bella?" I suggested contemplatively.

Alice started to laugh at that, I had missed her melodic, ringing laugh. I couldn't have stopped myself from smiling at her even if I had tried.

"I guess we can do that," Alice replied, joining me on the bed.

"Good. What you wanna do now?" I asked curiously.

"Well, we could go to my house and you could meet the rest of my family?" Alice suggested slowly.

I visibly gulped. Meeting Alice's family? _'Being in the same house as Rose, the girl who stares holes in my body almost every day at school?' _my mind visibly shuddered at the thought.

"Your house?" I asked weakly.

"We don't have to, I can understand that the idea of being in a house full of vampires is a little alarming," Alice tried to reassure me immediately.

"Oh, that's not it, actually, I'm a little scared of Rose and well, I kinda want your family to like me and well, what if they don't?" I started chewing on my lower lip.

Alice stared at me for a moment, shook her head and started laughing.

"You truly are something, Bella Swan," she sighed, getting up and offering me her hand to pull me off the bed. "You're ready to go, then? I mean, since you're not scared, only worried a bunch of vampires don't like you?" Alice kept laughing.

"Smart ass," I retorted, while letting her pull me off the bed. I wondered if her hand seemed warmer now because I expected the cold or if I was close to losing my mind. The first thought seemed a lot more comforting, so I went with that.

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Once we were in Alice's beloved canary yellow Porsche more questions popped into my head.

"So, um, can I ask you some more questions?" I turned to Alice a little insecure.

"Of course, Bella, you can ask me anything," Alice replied with a sweet smile on her beautiful face. My mind sighed, wondering how she'd react if I told her about my feelings for her. _'Better not think about this now'_ my mind suggested wisely, as I shook my head.

"How old are the rest of you guys?" I started with something simple.

"Well, Edward and I are the same age, actually. Carlisle is the oldest, he is over 300 years old," Alice started to explain before I interrupted her,

"He is over 300 years old? Wow!" I breathed speechless.

"Yes, he is," Alice gave me another smile. "Esme is a few years older than both Edward and I, whereas Rosalie and Emmett are both almost 15 years younger than we are. Well, and Jasper, he was born in the 1840's." Alice finished contemplatively.

"Wow, even the youngest of you are what, 95 years old?" I marveled, still at a loss for words.

"Yes, and besides, what is your issue with age anyway?" Alice asked curiously.

"Uh, nothing, I'm just surprised, that's all," I answered uncomfortable. "Well, uhm, are Edward and Jasper seeing anybody?" I tried quickly to change the topic.

"Why, you're interested?" Alice looked at me with raised eyebrows.

'_Yeah, right,'_ my mind snickered right away. "No, I'm just curious, you know, you all live forever, that seems to give the "till death do you part" line a whole new meaning." I answered awkwardly.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?" Alice started to chuckle. "But vampires are different in this regard than humans. We rarely experience change and if we do, it is usually permanent. So, relationships among vampires are very serious and there are very few separations," Alice went on to explain.

"Oh, ok. Well, so you guys just haven't found the right person then?" I asked curiously.

"I guess," Alice shrugged her shoulders. "We all have different opinions on that topic. Edward and Jasper are not really that interested in a relationship, they both have trouble with the notion that they deserve happiness. Edward always says that we are living half a life, we walk among humans, but we don't belong to you. And we don't realty belong to vampires either, because of our different diet and our respect for human life. While that makes finding a mate harder, I still think Edward and Jasper prefer to stay alone right now. That way they can continue to be all broody and hone the idea that not matter what, we will never manage to truly happy," Alice looked out of the window with a sad expression.

"Do you believe that?" I asked carefully.

"No, Bella, I don't. We're not hurting anyone and we love one another, we help each other and Carlisle even helps and saves humans on a daily basic. We deserve to be happy, just like any other creature," Alice's intent gaze burned into me and left me breathless for a moment.

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**Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think! I love your reviews and comments! Is there something particular you would like to see happening in this story?**


	12. Who is it, Bella?

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but plot changes, rest belongs to SM.**

**Thanks for all the review and alerts! Thanks for reading~  
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**I know, I suck, so, without further ado, here is the next chapter.**

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**Twilight:Redux**

**Chapter 12**

**"Who is it, Bella?"**

BPOV

We arrived at the Cullens house, even though, mansion would have been a more accurate word for the view that awaited us when Alice drove into their driveway. By that time, my palms felt decidedly moist. Yet, it still amazed me that it was not the fact that Alice's family consisted of vampires that had me on edge. This little tidbit could be approached pretty rationally, considering that if they'd meant any harm, they could've killed me ages ago. So, since I was still breathing, I figured I'd be safe. What had me in stitches was the fact that I'd just realized my feelings for Alice and now I was off to meet her family. Yes, Alice didn't know about my feelings, and this was not really me being "introduced" to the family, still, I was desperate to make a good impression. The problem was though, how are you supposed to make a good impression when one of the family members already hates you? _'Maybe Rosalie isn't there right now?'_ my mind offered helpfully. '_Yeah, right, with my luck she'll be the one opening the door, followed by slamming it shut into my face,'_ I retorted sarcastically. This contemplation made me sigh, well, not as if I could have done anything to change this.

"Bella, are you all right? We really don't have to go inside; we can just drive back to your place or whatever else you want to do?" Alice looked at me concerned after hearing my sigh.

"No, it's fine, don't worry Alice, I'm just really nervous that they follow Rosalie and her Anti-Bella fan club," I tried to reassure Alice, while I hoped she'd reassure my fears regarding her family. Once these words left my mouth, we heard a booming laugh coming from the inside of the house. "I guess you didn't exaggerate with the enhanced senses of vampires, huh?" I turned crimson, immediately realizing that my comment was heard by more than just my vampire.

"Emmett," Alice made the name sound like a curse word, even though she barely whispered his name. "Yes, Bella, I'm sorry, but in our house and the surrounding area, there is no such thing as privacy. And with Edward, me and Jasper there, pretty much everything is out in the open." Alice shrugged apologetically.

"Oh," was all I could really think of to reply. I couldn't even imagine living in a place with virtually zero privacy. _'I guess this eliminates this house as a potential make-out place,'_ my mind sighed and I blushed, never had I been so glad that Edward couldn't read my thoughts. _'Besides, I don't even know if Alice could imagine being more than my friend anyway,'_ I retorted, trying to close this discussion.

"You still want to go inside?" Alice inquired carefully.

"Yes, of course. I mean, I've already been totally embarrassed, so, what's the worst that could happen?" I started to laugh, realizing that I'd probably just jinxed myself. _'Way to go, Bella!'_ my mind rolled its imaginary eyes.

"Great," Alice sounded genuinely excited, clapped her hands and then was gone. My mind barely had the time to say _'huh?' _when she opened my door, wearing a huge grin on her beautiful face. A little bit stunned, I wondered if I'd ever get used to how beautiful Alice was.

"It's so nice to no longer have to hide what I am when I'm around you," Alice was still smiling when she offered me her hand to help me out of the car.

"Yeah, I believe it's nice to be truly honest," I replied, while my mind slapped me silly, screaming _'how can you slip like that? Now she'll want to know what that was about, and what, you gonna tell her, oh, well, yes, to be honest, I'm in love with you? Seriously? Did they drop you often on your head as a child?'_ God, my mind could be so annoying!

Like expected, Alice looked at me quizzically at my last statement. "Is there something you want to tell me, Bella?" she inquired carefully.

"No, uh, I just tried to imagine how you must've felt keeping part of who you are a secret," I replied quickly, proud of my relatively believable cover-up story.

"Yes, it was hard and I always felt as if I were lying to you, the whole time," Alice seemed to buy my answer, looking contemplative while chewing on her lower lip.

Suddenly, we had reached the front door, when at the same time, the door swung open, admitting what I assumed to be Esme, Alice's mother, for all intents and purposes.

"Hello you two, Bella, it is so nice to finally meet you," Esme smiled at me and quickly enveloped me in a hug_. 'Why do they all have to smell so good?'_ my mind questioned weakly, while returning the hug.

"Hello Mrs. Cullen, it's nice to meet you too," I smiled at Esme.

"Please, just call me Esme," she replied, stepping aside to let Alice and I enter the house.

I looked around and was both impressed and surprised by the Cullens house. Not that I'd expected them to live in a dungeon, but all this open space and the almost bottom to ceiling wall of windows was quite different than in my imagination.

"You have a beautiful home, Esme," I turned to look at Alice's mother, whose face immediately lit up with a huge smile,

"Thank you, Bella. We all really love our home and quite enjoy the openness"

"Come on, Bella, I want to introduce you to the rest of the family," Alice impatiently dragged me into the next room, into what appeared to be the Cullens living room.

"Hey everybody, this is Bella. Be nice!" Alice introduced me to her gathered siblings. It was kinda odd, considering that we all went to the same school, so, we knew who the other was, sort of, but we never really talked. Also, what was the 'be nice' comment about? I stopped myself from frowning at my thoughts and gave a shy,

"Hey," into the round of assembled vampires.

"Hello Bella, I'm Emmett, Alice's favorite brother," Emmett gave me a huge grin while whipping his body back and forth, both hands stuck in the pockets of his pants. It was odd seeing the behavior of a mischievous 10-year-old coming from such a bear of a man.

At his comment, Edward cleared his throat, while giving me a crooked half-smile,

"Don't mind him, Bella, he's full of lies. I'm Edward, but you know that already, huh, lab partner?"

I nodded and returned his smile.

"Whatever," Emmett grumbled while bumping into Edward shoulder. "Oh, and Bella, this is Rosalie, the president of the "Anti-Bella-Fan club," Emmett continued, while embracing Rosalie quickly.

I turned crimson at his comment and stared at my feet. Of course he'd not let me live that down.

"What did I say about being nice, people?" Alice admonished her siblings, followed by a little growl. This made me turn to look at her startled. I'd never heard her growl before. She sounded almost dangerous.

Rosalie seemed unfazed from all of this and never returned any greeting, she just stood there, looking incredibly bored. I wish I'd had any idea as to what I'd done to her to make her hate me so much.

"Hello Bella, I am Jasper," a light southern drawl drew me out of my thoughts. Jasper stood the furthest away from us and looked like he stepped on a nail. I had to remember to ask Alice why he always appeared to be in agony. Maybe he was just broody? Alice did mention that he and Edward were more on the contemplative side of life.

"Hello Jasper," I smiled at him and turned to look at Alice.

"Anyway, I want to show Bella my room, "Alice obviously got my hint and after a short wave to her chuckling siblings, we were off to her room upstairs. At least, that's where she dragged me without further ado.

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APOV

I could not understand why having Bella at my house and in my room, for that matter, made me so incredibly anxious. I knew my family, or better Emmett would tease her some, but overall I thought her introduction went well. I felt a little bad for dragging Bella away from them right away, but I did sense Bella's nervousness and wanted to help calm her nerves. And, to be honest, I also did not want to share Bella. I was not really insecure about her comments regarding Jasper and Edward earlier, still, why tempt fate, right? I loved those two guys, but I'll be damned if I present opportunities for Bella to fall for either of them. _'But you cannot force these things, if she falls in love with one of your brothers, there is nothing you can do,'_ my mind suggested rationally. _'Really, that's all the comfort you have to offer?'_ I sneered at my mind. I sighed and turned to look at Bella who was still in the process of taking in my room.

"Why do you have a bed in here if you never sleep?" Bella suddenly asked curiously.

"It's comfortable to lie on and relax. Not that I really need to relax, my body at least. But sometimes it's nice to just rest and try to come to a little pause," I answered carefully. As I said before, being a vampire is not all that it's cracked up to be. I hoped and feared at the same time that Bella would realize this.

"That makes sense," Bella said smiling, continuing to look around. "I like your room, it's very, uhm, you," she started laughing at that and I could not help but join her.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I laughed and plopped down next to Bella on the bed.

I was about to ask Bella if she wanted something to eat or drink when I was suddenly engulfed in a vision,

_Bella was sitting in a room I had never seen before, holding a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands. Suddenly, the door opened and Jade walked into the room. _

"_Hey Bells," Jade stuttered out, she appeared to be very nervous as she sat down next to Bella on the bed. "Listen, I've gotta tell you something, but, gosh, I'm, I don't know, I guess I'm nervous 'cause I don't wanna ruin our friendship or anything," Jade kept on babbling and Bella's facial expression spoke of a mixture between curiosity and alarm as she studied Jade quietly. She put her cup down on a nightstand, turned to Jade and cocked her head a little,_

"_What is it Jade? I'm sure nothing you can tell me is going to ruin our friendship," Bella tried to reassure her, smiling gently._

"_Don't be so sure," Jade mumbled almost unintelligibly, while rubbing her hands up and down her thighs. _

"_Jade, come on, what's going on?" Bella questioned, getting a little anxious by Jade's unusual behavior._

_Suddenly, Jade looked up at Bella, smiling a little and whispered, "here goes nothing," while leaning forward and kissing Bella lightly on the lips._

Naturally, this was the moment when my vision ended. I blinked a few time, feelings of anger, frustrations and sheer agony running rampant while I tried to calm myself down. I was so frustrated that the vision ended before I had a chance to see Bella's reaction to Jade's kiss and I was angry that this pup dared to kiss Bella. What was worse though, and that was what caused agony to be the most dominant emotion, was my fear of Bella reciprocating Jade's feelings.

"Alice, are you ok? You zoned out there for a moment. I'm guessing you had a vision?" Bella touched my shoulder, while looking at me concerned.

I licked my lips, still warring with my emotions, trying to keep calm and not start pacing around, screaming out the need to kill a puppy. "Yes, uh, I'm fine, Bella. A vision, it's, it is all going to be fine," I tried to reassure Bella, failing miserably.

"Uh huh, I can see how fine you are, Alice. What is it?" Bella had yet to remove her hand from my shoulders.

"Nothing, really, I mean, it's something with my siblings, it just surprised me a little, that's all. Please don't worry, ok?" I tried one more time, while almost praying for Bella to believe me.

"Oh, ok, that's, uh, that's fine. Sorry, I didn't want to come across as nosy or anything," Bella removed her hand and returned it to her lap, where she now started playing with her fingers. This whole situation was driving me insane. I did not know what to do, how Bella felt and how to best deal with the upcoming Jade situation. Maybe I should wait and see how Bella reacts to Jade's kiss, that would at least give me a hint on whether or not see was open to the idea of being with another woman. Of course, that way I may also risk Bella falling for Jade. Besides, I did not even know when Jade was planning on putting this plan into action.

"Bella, don't worry about this, and no, you're not being nosy, it's just not my place to tell you, that's all," I tried to cheer her up a little.

"Alice, uh, can I ask you a personal question?" Bella suddenly changed the subject, yet, she still was not looking at me.

"Of course, Bella, you can ask me anything," I answered curiously.

"Have you ever been in love? I mean, you've lived for quite a long time and I was just wondering, I mean, you said you haven't found the right person for you, but that doesn't mean that you've never been in love with anyone, right?" Bella mumbled shyly.

Momentarily stunned, it took me a few seconds to catch my bearings and try to answer her question.

"Well, yes and no, I guess. I mean, I've met people that I found attractive and to some of them I felt a definite attraction, but I don't think I've ever really been in love," _'until now,'_ my mind added sadly. "How about you?" I looked curiously at Bella, who surprisingly immediately turned a lovely shade of pink, which made her scent even more appealing. By now though, I was used to blocking out the temptation that was Bella's blood.

"Oh, I, well, I guess I've been in love," Bella whispered, while suddenly finding my window curtains of great interest.

"Lucky guy," I laughed, which drew Bella's gaze back upon me, looking a little confused. "I meant the guy you were in love with, well, but in a way, unlucky guy, since he is obviously not with you?" I knew I was fishing, but this opportunity was too good to be wasted. "Are you still in love with him?" I continued, and Bella looked away again.

"Yeah, but I believe my feelings are one-sided," she whispered, still not looking at me.

Huh? So that means she was in love right now? But wait, a few weeks ago she said there was no one, so that means that she must have fallen in love with someone in Forks, right?"

"Well, if it is one-sided, then he's a fool," I spoke adamantly. "Do I know him?" I wondered if she would confide in me.

Bella started laughing at this point, and then she got up and walked to the window. She hugged herself while looking outside into the darkness.

"You could say so," was all Bella suddenly said into the room, that was now so quiet even a human ear could hear a pin drop. I could not move from my spot on the bed. I knew him. She was in love with someone and I knew him. Could it be Edward or Jasper? But I had asked her earlier and she said no to the idea of being interested in them. Who was it then? Someone from school? Eric? Tyler? Mike? No, she seemed barely to tolerate all but Eric, and even him she only seemed to like in a brotherly fashion. Maybe Jade? I mean, she never confirmed that she was in love with a guy.

"Well, who is it, Bella?" I whispered, bracing myself for the words that were likely to crush my already dead heart.

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**I hate cliffhangers and I'm so sorry for this one, especially considering that I'll leave for a week long vacation tomorrow. While I will have neither access to the internet nor to a computer, I will continue writing with a notebook and pen. I ended this story here, because I haven't decided yet whether or not Bella will tell Alice the truth at this moment. I'm not sure if this is not too fast, from Bella realizing her feelings to confessing them. Also, I kinda wanted more interaction with Bella and Jade before any confession takes place.**

**So, I will continue to write, but I will skip ahead and write nothing regarding the continuing of this chapter until I come back from the vacation.**

**Let me know what you think and what you'd prefer, since I really cannot seem to make up my mind.**

**Oh, and if there are error in consistency, please let me know.**

**One last question, do you want more interaction with the rest of the Cullens?**


	13. What in the World?

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but plot changes.**

**Sorry. Real life can be a drag. I've also been awful with responding to reviews and I'd like to apologize for that. Your reviews and comments mean a lot to me, and I try to get to answering them as soon as possible. I will also try to update more regularly and moreover, SOONER! Thank you all for reading!**

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**Chapter 13**

**"What in the World?"**

BPOV

I had just opened my mouth and was about to tell Alice the truth when my phone started ringing._ 'Saved by the bell?'_ I wasn't sure if this interruption would turn out to be a blessing or a curse. I shrugged my shoulders apologetically at Alice, who gave me a murderous look out of squinted eyes. _'You're in so much trouble,'_ my mind commented unnecessarily.

"Hello?" I spoke a little irritated into my phone.

"Bella? Where are you? I was worried about you!" answered an agitated Charlie.

"Dad, I'm at the Cullens, with Alice. I left you a note on the table," I answered confused.

"I didn't see a note. Besides, it's late, I think you should come back home now," Charlie still sounded irritated. I briefly wondered that he'd probably had a bad day at work, before sighing,

"Alright Dad, I'll ask Alice to drive me back home," I gave Alice a short smile, who rolled her eyes, still looking upset while she was standing in her room with her arms crossed in front of her chest. In fact, upon looking closer I realized that she was pouting.

I hung up on Charlie and started to laugh.

"Oh Alice, come on! Don't be upset! We spent a lot of time together today and besides, how come you didn't see that Charlie would freak out anyway?" my laughing seemed only to frustrate Alice more.

"Well, sorry, but I was a little distracted!" Alice still wouldn't unclasp her crossed arms.

I slowly walked towards her and pulled her into a quick embrace.

"I'm really sorry Alice, but we really need to go. I don't want Charlie to even entertain the notion of grounding me," I whispered while breathing in Alice's sweet scent. Alice's posture relaxed immediately,

"You don't play fair Bella, and you know it. But know this, I will get it out of you eventually. Just wait and see," Alice released me only to grab my hand and lead the way to her car.

"That's what I'm afraid of," I muttered, momentarily forgetting about Alice's super hearing power.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Bella," Alice's chime laughter made my heart beat faster. If only that were true.

xxx

During the next few weeks, I spent more time with Jade, and I even had to admit that I spent more time with Jade than I did with Alice. In fact, I was avoiding Alice a little bit. I felt so awkward about my almost confession, and I was so afraid of Alice trying to worm out a real confession that I tried to minimize the time we spent together. Yet, I was missing her terribly. And the fact that I could tell how hurt Alice was by this growing distance made the situation even worse. I couldn't seem to get Alice's downcast expression out of my head, once I'd told her I'd spend this Friday evening at Jade's place, again. She had wanted to meet but I lied and told her I had already made plans with Jade. _'Gosh, you're such a chicken.'_ my mind kept chiding me constantly. Of course, I had to call Jade and pray she had no plans for Friday. Luckily, she was up for hanging out with me. I was driving to her place but all I could see were Alice's sad eyes. Not that she was complaining about all of this, mind you. She always was so damn understanding. It's almost like she expected this. I gave a disgusted scoff towards my own gutlessness and got out of the car, ringing the doorbell at Jade's place.

"Hey Bella," Jade greeted me immediately, sounding a little breathless. "Billy's at Harry's, so we got the place all to ourselves," she gave me a huge smile and stepped back so I could enter the house.

"Hello Jade," I gave her a little smile. It wasn't her fault that I was in such a foul mood, so I tried to appear more enthusiastic than I felt. It's not like I don't like Jade or even dislike her company, I was just angry at myself for how I've been treating Alice, and what was worse, I missed Alice so much that I had a hard time convincing myself to enjoy my time with Jade.

I followed Jade into her room, a little confused by the nervous energy Jade seemed to exude from every pore of her being.

"Uh, you wanna drink something? Or, are you hungry?" Jade turned around and asked me once I had stepped into her room.

"Na, I just ate, thanks. But I'm a little cold, so maybe a hot tea? If it's not too much work," I continued contemplatively.

"Sure, sure, no problem," Jade smiled, "just make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." And with that Jade disappeared into the kitchen.

I sat down on Jade's bed, still with my thoughts running in circles around this whole Alice situation. Maybe, if I told her about my feelings, we could move on, regardless of how she feels. I mean, if she likes me too, that'd be perfect, unlikely, but perfect. If she doesn't, that still wouldn't mean we couldn't be friends anymore, right? It might be awkward at first, but I was sure we could overcome this. I was lost in thoughts by the time Jade came back and brought me a steaming coup of herbal tea.

"Thanks, Jade" I looked into her smiling face and couldn't help but return her smile.

"No problem, I hope you like the tea, it's raspberry, I believe." Jade went on, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Sorry, I'll go check who it is," and with that, Jade dashed back out of the room. I took the cup of tea and carefully took a sip. I actually liked it, and it sure helped in not feeling so cold.

After a few minutes, Jade came back. "Just the neighbor wanting to borrow milk. You'd think there are now grocery stores on the Rez," Jade chuckled, sounding a little jumpy.

"Hey Bells," Jade stuttered out, while I kept on wondering why she was so nervous all of a sudden.

"Listen, I've gotta tell you something, but, gosh, I'm, I don't know, I guess I'm nervous 'cause I don't wanna ruin our friendship or anything," Jade kept on babbling and I continued to look at her curiously, but also a little alarmed by Jade's ramblings. I carefully put down my tea onto Jade's nightstand and turned to her,

"What is it Jade? I'm sure nothing you can tell me is going to ruin our friendship," I tried to reassure her, smiling gently.

"Don't be so sure," Jade mumbled almost unintelligibly, while rubbing her hands up and down her thighs.

"Jade, come on, what's going on?" I urged her on. This was getting really confusing.

Suddenly, Jade looked up me, smiled a little and whispered, "here goes nothing," while leaning forward and kissing me lightly on the lips.

My mind went blank, I couldn't believe that Jade was kissing me, at the same time, my mind flashed to Alice and I wished it was her who was sitting with me here instead. I immediately started to feel guilty and softly pushed Jade away.

"Jade," I started, sighing a little.

"It's alright Bella, I get it," Jade looked down dejectedly, moving a little backwards on the bed.

"It's just, I like you Jade, I really do, but not like that. I'm sorry, I wish things were different, believe me." I tried to soften the blow.

"Is there someone else, or is it just me that you don't want, or, because I'm a girl?" Jade's tone became very low when she started to ask these questions.

"It's not that simple, I mean, gosh," I started to laugh frustrated. "I guess we're both in the same boat, in a way. I mean, we're both like people who only want to be our friends."

At that Jade looked up at me with wide eyes, "so there is someone else. I figured. They are stupid for not wanting to be with you," Jade smiled softly, but also very sadly at me.

"Yeah, whatever, I guess. Let's not ruin our evening, ok? Let's just go ahead and watch that movie you've been going on about all week." I tried to change the subject.

"Sure," Jade sighed, getting up and leading the way to the living room where she set up our movie night. "Rising Moon," let the good times begin.

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APOV

The last few weeks have been hell. Bella has been avoiding me, and to make matters even worse, she spent almost all her free time with Jade. Every time she met up with her, I kept wondering if this would be the day when Jade would try to kiss her. My family suffered under my bad mood, but I just could not seem calm down. I was even unable to prevent showing Bella how much her behavior was hurting me. Tonight she went to Jade for a movie night. _'Wonder what movie the little mongrel has picked out this time,'_ my mind sneered, while I was pacing up and down in my room. I was so deep in thought and so utterly frustrated that I did not even hear my phone ringing at first.

I quickly picked up the phone and answered, sounding a little breathless. _'What was up with that anyway?'_ I rolled my eyes at myself, something that has become quite a habit of mine since meeting Bella.

"Hello," I answered, sounding a little bit rude.

"Alice?" Bella's voice immediately improved my mood.

"Bella? What's up, are you ok? I thought you'd be at Jade's all evening?" I tried, but I still sounded bitter.

"Uh, I was, I just got back. Do you wanna come over? I kinda need to talk to you?" Bella sounded shy and nervous when she asked this question.

"Sure," I replied quickly, happy to get to see her, but wary of the reason behind this summoning. "What time is it?" I looked at the clock on my wall, surprised at how late it was already. "Bella, you want me to come over now? It is already midnight?" I inquired a little confused.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I'm not tired, and I thought since you don't sleep, and I really need to talk to you, Alice. Please?" Bella sounded almost desperate.

"Ok, I'll be with you in a few minutes," I answered, hung up the phone and changed my clothes.

Five minutes later, I found myself climbing into Bella's room through her open bedroom window. Unsure, I just stood there, looking at Bella expectantly.

"Alice, hi," Bella stood up nervously, started to pace a few steps only to fall back onto her bed with a sigh.

"Are you all right, Bella?" I asked suddenly concerned.

"What?" Bella looked up at me confused. "Yeah, it's just, gosh, I've missed you," she suddenly smiled at me broadly.

This emotional roller coaster started to make my head spin. I was tense, because I didn't know what Bella wanted to talk to me about and the fact that we recently hardly spent any time together did not improve this situation. Yet, there she was, giving me this huge smile while telling me that she missed me. _'Really? Well, not my fault,'_ my mind quipped, still feeling a little slighted from Bella's recent avoidance.

Yet, I couldn't stop the slight smile that crossed my features at Bella's words.

"I missed you too, but Bella, what's going on? I doubt you asked to stop by so you can tell me you've missed me?" I sighed, deciding at last to sit down next to Bella.

Bella immediately looked away, but didn't move away from her spot next to me.

"Jade kissed me tonight," Bella whispered after a short moment.

If my heart would still beat, it probably would have stopped for a second at hearing this declaration. Yes, I knew this would happen, still, hearing about it from Bella added a completely new dimension of pain to this scenario. I suddenly realized why she called me over. She wanted to tell me that she is with Jade now. My head dropped at this thought, and all I could get out was a weak,

"I see."

"You do?" Bella turned to look at me, but I was still staring at the perfectly manicured hands in my lap. "Because honestly Alice, I don't. I mean, I never saw this coming. I don't know, I mean, yes, Jade and I are friends, but I thought that's all. But I was wrong, obviously, with the kissing and all," Bella rambled on, oblivious to how much her words hurt me. I so was not in the mood to play the best friend who listens to the love sick ramblings of the girl she's in love with. Even my usually so vocal mind had nothing uplifting or even sarcastic to offer at this point.

"Alice? Alice? Hey, are you even listening?" Bella's voice abruptly brought me out of my musings.

"Huh? Yes, I am sorry, Bella." I quickly glanced at her before turning my gaze longingly toward the window. I would have loved to just escape this hell.

"Anyway, so, I obviously hurt Jade's feelings and I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do about it, especially considering the circumstances," Bella went on and I suddenly realized I must have missed some vital information while I had zoned out during Bella's earlier ramblings.

"Wait, why did you hurt Jade's feelings?" I asked confused, whereupon Bella gave me a sarcastic look, since my question was just proof that I had not been listening to her.

"Well, maybe because I told her that I'm not interested in her like that," Bella answered, sighing once more.

"Like what?" I think my brain had just fallen out. I am not usually this stupid.

"Like romantically. Alice! Come one!" Bella whined a little.

"You're not?" My brain was obviously still missing.

"No, Alice, I'm not, as I've said earlier," Bella repeated, again looking at me a little scandalized.

"Why not?" it seemed that, while my brain continued its gallivanting, all I was capable of saying were pathetic two word questions.

Bella looked down on her hands, then stood up and started to pace a little.

"Well, that's why I asked you to come over tonight. That, and I wanted to apologize to you," Bella finally pressed out.

"Huh?" now we were down to one word questions. Can 'huh' even qualify as a word?

"Yes, I'm sorry Alice, I've been avoiding you recently and that wasn't fair and it was also an insult to our friendship," Bella went on, seemingly gaining more confidence with every word.

"Thank you," I whispered stunned. I had not seen this coming, and I am psychic, mind you.

"I figured that's the least I can do," Bella finally came to sit down next to me.

"It's all right, Bella, don't worry about it." I went on, trying to make her drop the subject.

"Don't you wanna know why I was avoiding you?" Bella asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I guess. If you want to tell me?" what else was there to say? I could hardly say, '_oh, that depends on if your reason is going to rip out my unbeating heart or not, because if it is, I'd prefer for you to remain silent.'_ That would be just rude.

"Want to, huh? I'm not sure that I want to tell you, but I feel I need to tell you," Bella answered cryptically while scoffing a little.

"You don't have to do anything, Bella. Seriously, if you don't want to talk about this, I am fine," I tried to assure her.

"I know, Alice, I know. Gosh, could you stop being so damn understanding. Why aren't you angry with me anyway? Why aren't you demanding answers? I mean, did you even notice that I was avoiding you?" Bella's temper seemed to rise out of nowhere.

Stunned, I recoiled from her words as if she had slapped me. Then, my ire rose too,

"Of course I have noticed that you were avoiding me! How can you even ask that, Bella?" I spit our tersely. _'What in the world?'_ my mind appeared to be even more confused.

Bella jumped off the bed again, knotting her hand together, then releasing them hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, it's just so hard, I don't know how to do this, I've never done this before, and what if I ruin everything?" Bella started to ramble once more. Still, her words only increased my confusion.

"What is it, Bella? What are you afraid of ruining?" I asked concerned. I hated seeing Bella so distressed.

"Alice, I…I'm….gosh, I can't do this, I…" a scarily determined look suddenly crossed over Bella's featured as she walked up to me, bend down and firmly pressed her lips on mine.

Once Bella's lips touched mine, time slowed down and I froze, resembling a stone statue more than ever before. I do not believe I was ever more shocked or more surprised in my entire existence. '_Bella is kissing me!'_ was all my mind could utter in a seemingly infinite loop. Bella, naturally, took my frozen state to mean that I did not want to kiss her and drew back after a few seconds, letting her head drop, utterly dejected.

"I, I'm sorry, Alice. I shouldn't have done that," she whispered, and I was not sure that I would have heard her without my enhanced hearing.

"No, Bella, don't apologize," I hurried on to calm her, reaching out, clasping our hands together. "Bella, I loved it, I was just so shocked and surprised, I am sorry for freezing on you," I chuckled, seemingly calm while my insides were busy riding a roller coaster, screaming in a mixture of delight and abject terror.

"You loved it?" Bella looked up at me in wonder.

"Yes, of course, Bella. I'm in love with you." I ventured on with no fear of rejection.

Bella's answering smile could have lit a sun that was about to turn into a dead star.

"I love you too, Alice," she was still smiling while leaning forward and capturing my lips for another kiss.

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**Thanks again for reading and I hope you liked it. Are you interested in seeing Bella's version of this little talk with Alice? **

**Comments, concerns and criticism welcome and please tell me if I made an error in the time line or anything. Cheers!**

**Oh, and uhm, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  
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	14. What Are You Doing?

**Disclaimer: I wish I did own anything, alas, I do not.**

**Thanks again for all the lovely reviews, for all your favorite and alert notifications. Most of all, thanks for reading. I will respond to all the neglected reviews by the weekend. Just know they are appreciated. Now, on with the show!**

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**Twilight:Redux**

**Chapter 14**

**What Are You Doing?**

BPOV

Saying goodbye to Jade after the movie had been more than awkward. I felt horrible for causing her pain, but there was nothing I could do. I mean, I was in love with Alice and even though I doubted that she reciprocated my feelings, I wasn't about to start a relationship as a distraction from my situation. Besides, that would be more than unfair to Jade. I could never have done that.

After getting back into my car, I felt all keyed up. Frustrated about hurting Jade, aggravated at the limbo that had started to define Alice and I along with my utter inability to work up the courage to tell Alice how I felt. I grasped the steering wheel, closing my eyes while taking a deep breath. This just couldn't continue! It could seriously harm my friendship with Alice and that was just unacceptable. If she doesn't want more than friendship, well, then that's what I would get. Better friends than nothing. Strangely enough, Jade's confession appeared to have given me the courage to take a risk and tell Alice how I felt. I opened my eyes, smiling. Yes, I would tell her tonight, before my courage decided to sell out and leave me hanging come morning. My mood immediately changed to cheerful, with a strong side of petrified. _'Well, at least you'll know for sure once you tell her'_ my mind tried to cheer me up.

Once I got back to our house, I immediately dashed to my room, grabbed my phone and called Alice. I refused to offer myself the chance to chicken out.

Alice took her time to answer; finally, I heard a slightly irritated,

"Hello," and the sound of Alice's voice left me a little breathless.

"Alice?" I asked a little insecure, while wondering why she appeared to be in such a bad mood.

"Bella? What's up, are you ok? I thought you'd be at Jade's all evening?" Alice asked, sounding concerned at first, but her last question ended in a sneer? Really? '_Well, not really a surprise considering how you've been treating Alice during these last few weeks' _my mind decided to aggravate my already frayed nerves.

"Uh, I was, I just got back. Do you wanna come over? I kinda need to talk to you?" I know I sounded nervous, but since I knew what I had planed, I figured I had every right in the world to be nervous.

"Sure," Alice responded immediately, thereby lifting a weight the size of one of those ridiculous cartoon anvils, the kind that always drop on that dude who goes after that really fast bird, off my chest. Obviously, even my mind tended to babble when I was nervous.

After a short pause, Alice asked,

"What time is it?" followed, by a surprised "Bella, you want me to come over now? It is already midnight?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I'm not tired, and I thought since you don't sleep, and I really need to talk to you, Alice. Please?" I pleaded with Alice. I knew I sounded desperate, but there wasn't anything else I could've done. I needed to see Alice as soon as possible. My courage isn't known to last forever.

"Ok, I'll be with you in a few minutes," Alice answered, still sounding a little unsure. I hung up and started to pace in my room. At least Alice was fast and wouldn't take forever to get here.

Not even five minutes of pacing later, I sighed and sat back down on my bed. That same moment, Alice climbed through my window. The sight of her almost took my breath away. It seemed like my memory could never quite capture how beautiful she was and every time I saw her again, I was reminded how my memory did Alice no justice at all.

"Alice, hi," I greeted her quickly, getting up to pace again and then, feeling utterly ridiculous, I sat back down on the bed and sighed. My nerves were killing me.

"Are you all right, Bella?" Alice sounded almost worried.

"What?" I looked up startled. "Yeah, it's just, gosh, I've missed you," I blurted out before I could censor myself. Still, it felt good to be honest, and I had to smile broadly.

Alice looked at me a little astonished, she probably thought I was losing my mind, and to be honest, that was pretty much how I felt in that moment. I wanted to tell Alice everything, but I was also incredibly scared of doing just that. Then again, there was my resolve and I refused to back down.

After a short moment, Alice returned my smile,

"I missed you too, but Bella, what's going on? I doubt you asked to stop by so you can tell me you've missed me?" she sighed and moved to sit back down next to me.

I had to look away; her nearness combined with looking into her eyes would have stunned me into utter speechlessness. I didn't need that now. _'Resolve, where are you?'_ I decided first to tell here about the kiss from earlier tonight.

"Jade kissed me tonight," I whispered, sure Alice would hear me.

I don't know what reaction I expected from Alice after hearing about Jade and I, but it surely wasn't a surly,

"I see."

"You do?" I finally dared to look at Alice again who was staring at the hands in her lap. "Because honestly Alice, I don't. I mean, I never saw this coming. I don't know, I mean, yes, Jade and I are friends, but I thought that's all. But I was wrong, obviously, with the kissing and all," I started to ramble, feeling a slight blush coming on. This was all so embarrassing. Why did I always have to start rambling when I was nervous? "And I feel awful for hurting Jade, but there was no other way, I mean, I'm not in love with her…" I continued quickly, suddenly noticing Alice's blank stare.

"Alice? Alice? Hey, are you even listening?" I asked agitated. I couldn't believe Alice would just tune me out!

"Huh? Yes, I am sorry, Bella." Alice's eyes focused on me for a split second before her gaze wandered to the window. Was she thinking about leaving? _'Why? What did I do? Is she that bored?'_ I sighed and continued,

"Anyway, so, I obviously hurt Jade's feelings and I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do about it, especially considering the circumstances," I finished, looking expectantly at Alice.

"Wait, why did you hurt Jade's feelings?" Alice asked confused which irritated me beyond belief. It is one thing to think someone isn't listening to you, it is quite another issue to have your suspicions confirmed. I was so frustrated; I couldn't help but giving Alice as scathing look.

"Well, maybe because I told her that I'm not interested in her like that," I replied, sighing once more.

"Like what?" Alice looked at me as if I was speaking another language. What was it with her?

"Like romantically. Alice! Come one!" I started to whine. All of this was seriously endangering my courage.

"You're not?" Alice asked incredulously. Seriously? Did this woman try to give me a stroke? What was it with her? She was usually so eloquent and now she appeared to have the comprehension capacity of a mixture between Emmett and Mike. Ok, that was mean, but I was walking on the edge here and Alice seemed intent on not just letting me fall, but pushing me over it. With glee.

"No, Alice, I'm not, as I've said earlier," I repeated, once more giving Alice an exasperated look.

"Why not?" Alice asked, still looking at me as if she could hardly understand a single word I was saying. This was all just too much, I felt beyond agitated, looking at my slightly trembling hands before getting up and resuming my pacing. By this rate, I may very well walk a hole in the carpet.

"Well, that's why I asked you to come over tonight. That, and I wanted to apologize to you," I finally managed to admit.

"Huh?" Why did I even think Alice would reply with a complete sentence?

"Yes, I'm sorry Alice, I've been avoiding you recently and that wasn't fair and it was also an insult to our friendship," I continued, feeling the courage return to me.

"Thank you," Alice whispered bewildered.

"I figured that's the least I can do," I went on, sitting back down next to Alice.

"It's all right, Bella, don't worry about it." Alice appeared just to shrug off my apology. _'First, you cannot say a freaking sentence and then all you have to offer is this?'_ My mind was not far away from tearing out imaginary hair. I wasn't sure if those hair in question would be mine or Alice's. All I knew was that this whole situation was driving me insane and continued to irritate the mess out of me.

"Don't you wanna know why I was avoiding you?" I finally asked, raising my eyebrows challengingly.

"Well, I guess. If you want to tell me?" Alice shrugged disinterested. _'Unbelievable!'_ even my mind appeared to be too stunned to come up with something witty at this point.

"Want to, huh? I'm not sure that I want to tell you, but I feel I need to tell you," I finally answered scoffing. I doubted that anyone on this planet could aggravate me as much as Alice.

"You don't have to do anything, Bella. Seriously, if you don't want to talk about this, I am fine," Alice tried to sound reassuring, and I just couldn't take this anymore.

"I know, Alice, I know. Gosh, could you stop being so damn understanding. Why aren't you angry with me anyway? Why aren't you demanding answers? I mean, did you even notice that I was avoiding you?" my temper finally got the better of me.

Alice recoiled from my words and an expression of hurt and despair crossed her beautiful features before she adopted a more neutral facial expression.

"Of course I have noticed that you were avoiding me! How can you even ask that, Bella?" now Alice sounded almost as annoyed as I felt.

This was so not going according to plan. I had to do something before things got out of hands completely. I got off the bed, started to play with my hands in order to try to calm down.

"I'm sorry, it's just so hard, I don't know how to do this, I've never done this before, and what if I ruin everything?" Great, the ramblings were back.

"What is it, Bella? What are you afraid of ruining?" Alice sounded concerned, all the previous frustration and anger had completely disappeared from her pale features.

"Alice, I…I'm….gosh, I can't do this, I…" _'Enough words!'_ my mind all but screamed at me. _'Do something!'_ and so I did, I walked up to Alice who looked for a moment like the proverbial deer caught in headlights, as I bend down and firmly kissed Alice's lips.

Alice smelled so incredible and the feeling of her soft, cool lips on mine threatened to overwhelm me immediately. Then, my bliss was disturbed by the realization that Alice had frozen and did not seem all that interested in kissing me. Dejected, I drew back, my head fell forward. I never thought one could feel so hurt and mortified at the same time.

"I, I'm sorry, Alice. I shouldn't have done that," I whispered barely audible to my own ears.

"No, Bella, don't apologize," Alice uttered quickly, while reaching out and clasping our hands together. "Bella, I loved it, I was just so shocked and surprised, I am sorry for freezing on you," she chuckled calmly.

"You loved it?" I could hardly believe my ears.

"Yes, of course, Bella. I'm in love with you." Alice went on bravely. A huge smile spread over my face, all the while my mind was dancing like crazy, cheering, jumping up and down.

"I love you too, Alice," I sighed happily and moved forward to claim Alice's lips again.

As soon as my lips touched Alice's once more, my body started to tremble. I still couldn't believe I was kissing Alice. Her lips felt cool, but they were velvety soft and her delicious cherry blossom smell quickly overpowered my senses. I groaned and started to deepen the kiss. Alice gasped at the sound and readily accepted my attempt to deepen the kiss. Our tongues met and her cool muscle dueled with mine for dominance. My hands reached for Alice's head and with my fingers tangled in her hair, I pulled her closer to my body. Her hands immediately sneaked around my waist, pulling my body closed to her. Eagerly, I started to settle in her lap, our height difference forcing me to bend down again in order to continue our kiss. Our tongues continued their dance, when suddenly Alice whimpered softly, which only fueled my already rampant arousal. Encouraged by Alice's obvious enjoyment I leaned forward, pushing Alice's body back to recline onto the bed. Alice readily allowed my change in our positions. All the while, her hands moved up and down my back. Unconsciously, my hips started to rock against Alice. As soon as I started this movement, Alice pulled out of the kiss.

"Bella," she gasped, looking at me, her onyx eyes filled with both desire and surprise.

"Alice," I breathed out, cupping her delicate cheek in the palm of my hand.

"I really didn't see this coming," Alice continued softly.

"Obviously," I chuckled, while still holding her dainty cheek in my hand.

"I'm really glad you were braver than I was," Alice sighed, cupping my hand with her own.

"So am I, but we better not count on this to be a repeat performance, my courage isn't known for being around much" I tried to make light of the situation.

"I don't understand why you always have to be do down on yourself, Bella," Alice sighed, closing her eyes for a second. "I think you're one of the bravest people I've ever met," she continued, looking at me quite seriously. Her eyes were burning into mine, daring to contradict her. This forcefulness did nothing to quench my still rampant desire. I longed to continue our explorations, but wasn't sure if Alice was up for it. I had just decided to continue when Alice's eyes fluttered shut and she let out a small groan, all the while her body started to shake. Concerned overruled my plan,

"Alice, what is it? Are you all right?" I voiced anxiously.

"Bella, what are you doing? I just saw what you planed to do, and I have to say that my visions have never been clearer. It felt so real, as if you were actually kissing me," Alice had opened her eyes again and I noted that she sounded breathless. Curious. As soon as the meaning of her words hit me, a huge smile spread over my face and I bent back down to capture Alice's lips once more. But Alice stopped me by capturing my hands and pushing us both up into a sitting position, with me remaining on her lap.

"I can't Bella," Alice sighed frustrated. In that moment, all warmth that had previously spread through my body disappeared and was immediately replaced by an artic cold that chilled my very core. Instantly, I slipped off Alice's lap and moved back to lean against the headboard of my bed. I took a shuddering breath and managed to press out a weak

"Ok" while avoiding Alice's gaze.

"Bella, honey, look at me," Alice's sweet voice beckoned me calmly. I looked at her, meeting pitch-black eyes, and for the first time I noticed how convulsively she swallowed. Suddenly, I realized what this combination meant, and still blurted out the obvious question,

"Alice, are you all right?" while my mind started to sneer at me, _'of course she isn't all right, you simpleton.' _ Quietly rolling my eyes at my mind and my own stupid question I looked at Alice, waiting for her to answer.

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APOV

Bella's forcefulness during our kisses both surprised and aroused me at the same time. All I could smell and taste was Bella's delectable strawberry scent. Her warm tongue swirled around my mouth and coaxed my icy tongue into one of the most delicious duels I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. My stomach dropped, and I wrestled with my instincts to mate versus to feed. I cursed myself for not having fed in a while. My throat was on fire, yet, I seemed unable to move away from Bella. Instead, I pulled her closer to me. Hearing her groan felt like a physical blow to my stomach, and I could feel arousal pooling between my legs. I started to whimper softly, which Bella immediately took as an encouragement and started to push me back down onto the bed. While continuing to straddle my hips, Bella's hips started to rock against my body. In that moment, I had to stop her, I had allowed this to go much too far already. I couldn't chance the risk of hurting Bella and the movements of her hips along with the delicious friction this movement caused were seriously testing the limits if my control.

"Bella," I sighed, stopping the kiss.

"Alice," Bella whispered and cupped my cheek as if I was the most delicate flower and she was afraid to break me. I leaned into her caress.

"I really didn't see this coming," I still could hardly grasp the developments of this night.

"Obviously," Bella chuckled, while still holding my cheek in her hand.

"I'm really glad you were braver than I was," I sighed happily, cupping Bella's hand with my own.

"So am I, but we better not count on this to be a repeat performance, my courage isn't known for being around much," Bella uttered derisively, which both aggravated and saddened me.

"I don't understand why you have to always be do down on yourself, Bella," I sighed once more, closing my eyes in frustration. "I think you're one of the bravest people I've ever met," I continued, looking at Bella heatedly, daring her to contradict my statement. Bella looked at me stunned, her eyes suddenly turning impossibly darker, when I was hit with a vision like no other before.

_Bella was kissing me passionately, in fact, she was all but ravaging my mouth. All the while, her hips continued to undulate against mine and her hands started to roam all over my body. I could not comprehend what was happening when Bella shifted and pressed one of her thighs up against my wetness._

My vision ended, my eyes had closed during this vision and I was unable to suppress a groan as vision Bella applied much wanted pressure between my legs. My body started to shake with need and I was stunned at the vividness of my vision.

"Alice, what is it? Are you all right?" Bella sounded concerned.

"Bella, what are you doing? I just saw what you planed to do and I have to say that my visions have never been clearer. It felt so real, as if you were actually kissing me," I managed to reply, while opening my eyes, all the while trying to catch my breath. Bella looked a little confused at first, then a beautiful and open smile spread over her entire face. Bella seemed determined to turn my vision into reality and bent down to capture my lips in another kiss. I couldn't let that happen though, so I stopped Bella by capturing her hands and pushing us both up into a sitting position, with Bella remaining on my lap.

"I can't Bella," I sighed frustrated. Bella froze for a second, a dark shadow crossing her lovely features and she moved off my lab, sitting back against the headboard of her bed. She took a deep breath and timidly voiced,

"Ok" while avoiding my gaze. This was so typically Bella. Always assuming the worst.

"Bella, honey, look at me," I beckoned her, sounding a lot calmer than I actually felt. She finally looked up at me and after a short moment, I saw comprehension flicker across her face. At this moment, my thirst was excruciatingly painful and I couldn't mask my distress completely so that Bella had also noticed how I convulsively swallowed all the venom pooling in my mouth.

"Alice, are you all right?" Bella sounded concerned again, and then slightly rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed with herself, which somehow managed to amuse me through my pain. Bella looked at me expectantly.

"Yes, I mean, no." I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on Bella, instead of the painful inferno in my throat.

"Oh," Bella replied, looking a little lost.

"Bella, about what I said, I only meant that I can't do this right now, not that I don't want to, I just, I really, really need to go hunting. I'm sorry." I tried to assure her that I was in no shape or form rejecting her.

"Ok, I mean, I kinda figured, your eyes are all black," Bella shrugged her shoulders and looked down on the hands in her lap. "I guess I'm just a little insecure here," Bella looked relieved, yet also a little strained.

"Yes, so am I, Bella. I really didn't think you reciprocated my feelings and in fact, I thought you were in love with Jade or someone else. So, I believe we're on even ground here," I smiled reassuringly, taking hold of her hands once more. "I just never saw this coming, tonight, what happened, I mean and I haven't eaten in a while. Being so close to you is really hard for me right now." I had to swallow another bout of venom, the monster in me was really rattling in its cage. Bella's scent was so enticing and my body was still humming from both arousal and anticipation.

"I get it, Alice, don't worry. Just go, eat. I understand." Bella gave me a small smile and squeezed my hands.

"Good, I, uh, I'll get going then." I hesitantly got up and walked towards the window. If leaving Bella before was hard, now it seemed almost impossible. Only my need to protect Bella, especially from myself, allowed me to leave her side.

"Will you come back? After you're done, if you want to, I mean, you could come back?" Bella asked quietly the second I was about to slip out of the window. I turned around, smiling, happiness spreading through me at the realization that Bella wanted me to return to her.

"Yes, of course. I'd love that," and off I was, running towards the woods. This would be a quick and efficient hunt. I needed to get back to Bella.

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**Questions? Comments? Reviews? Do you prefer to continue to get both sides of the story for their more intimate moments or does the repetition start to bore you?**

**Also, I had written most of their more intimate moments at the pool during my vacation, and thought I had lost my notebook, but finally found it again. I was quite devastated when I thought I had lost my notebook (over 20 pages of this story), mostly because this is the first time EVER I have written a more intimate scene, and I was just horrified at the thought of having to rewrite these scenes.**

**Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year! See you in 2011!**


	15. Author's Note

I'm so sorry for leaving you guys hanging like that! I had planed and promised to update early January, but I got sick and now we are leaving tomorrow for a two-week trip to Germany. Therefore, I will be unable to update until the end of January.


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